


Young Avengers: The Long Road Home

by PrinceofSpaceGays5



Series: Young Avengers Assemble [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Demonic Possession, Gay Romance, M/M, Multi, New Avengers Vol. 3 (2013), Possession, Resurrection, Time Travel, Young Avengers: Children's Crusade, implied sex, referenced nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-22 11:51:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 40,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22082110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceofSpaceGays5/pseuds/PrinceofSpaceGays5
Summary: In the aftermath of Mother Knows Best, the Young Avengers have rebuilt themselves. Tommy and Billy still grieve the loss of their mother, Wanda Maximoff, but have started to move on. Meanwhile, Teddy makes a formal announcement that Skrull refugees live on Earth as aliens set their sights onto him to fulfill his destiny.However, dark nightmares haunt Billy as he's tormented by the guilt of Wanda's death. As Moridun is slowly taking control of Billy, it will take an unlikely union between Loki and the time traveler, Nathaniel Richards, to possibly save Billy's life. Can the Young Avengers save Billy? Or will they be forced to kill one of their own?
Relationships: Noh-Varr/Tommy Shepherd, Teddy Altman/Billy Kaplan
Series: Young Avengers Assemble [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1537639
Comments: 10
Kudos: 26





	1. Survivor

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year! And howdy to Part 3 of Young Avengers Assemble! I can't believe I'm already here. It feels like I just started yesterday. This story arc is based on Al Ewing's New Avengers run and also pulls in elements from Children's Crusade, minus Cassie dying. Girlfriend gets to live! I love Cassie too much to kill her off. And yes, Cassie, Kate, and Kamala will be returning soon.
> 
> Well, I hope you wonderful readers enjoy this story. For Part 3 and Part 4, I decided to add an additional chapter to each since there's a lot I want to say and this way I can spread things out just a little more. There's no need for me to rush to the finish line. It's not like I have a dissertation to write (Which I Do!).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! And howdy to Part 3 of Young Avengers Assemble! I can't believe I'm already here. It feels like I just started yesterday. This story arc is based on Al Ewing's New Avengers run and also pulls in elements from Children's Crusade, minus Cassie dying. Girlfriend gets to live! I love Cassie too much to kill her off. And yes, Cassie, Kate, and Kamala will be returning soon.
> 
> Well, I hope you wonderful readers enjoy this story. For Part 3 and Part 4, I decided to add an additional chapter to each since there's a lot I want to say and this way I can spread things out just a little more. There's no need for me to rush to the finish line. It's not like I have a dissertation to write (Which I Do!).

“Civilians, clear the streets! Do not engage with escapees! Officers, hold the perimeter! Do not let the escapees get out of sight”

A nightmarish scenario as prisoners escaped from the prison off Rikers Island and crossed the river into the city. Most of the prisoners escaped into the Bronx, which is where the police tried to corral the escapees as they cleared the streets of the civilians. 

Unlike an ordinary prison break though, the prison became a den for various street-level criminals and lesser, enhanced individuals that weren’t suited for the Raft. In this instance that meant that some former Maggia members escaped along with other criminals that the Avengers and Defenders got locked up, which put the city in serious danger. 

A cop hid behind an open squad car as he grabbed his pager. “Where is our backup!”

“Incoming!”

An explosion went off as the escapees broke free from their power dampeners. One of the escapees generated a combustive blast from his hands that blew up squad car.

The police scattered as they prepared to open fire. The escaped convicts geared up for a rumble as they knew they could easily handle a dozen cops since they had enhanced on the field.

However, those odds were about to turn against them.

One of the convicts fired a lightning blast from his fingertips. It would’ve struck a squad car had something not intervened. 

There were loud thumps on the roof of the squad car as the Patriot, Eli Bradley, got in the way. Eli raised his shield to absorb the lightning blast and avert another explosion. As the lightning faded, he lowered his shield with a smirk on his masked face. “That's not very nice. Not like I'd expect anything better from you." Eli cleared his throat. "Young Avengers! Assemble!”

There was what sounded like a clap of thunder as a blur came down from the sky.

Miss America, America Chavez, cracked her knuckles now that she was on the ground. She wore a fitted bodysuit that was navy blue for most of it except around the chest which was red. Also over her chest was what appeared to be the American flag except it bore only three stars to go with the red and white bars. She wore a red coat over her suit with a pair of red gloves that showed off the stars tattooed onto her wrists, a symbol of her power to open portals.

“Okay, boys,” said America, “I suggest you swim back to prison now and save yourselves the ass whopping.”

“Kill the bitch!”

America glared. She moved at superspeed to snatch one of the convicts by the collar and raised him over her head. “What did you just call me?” The convict started to piss his pants. America gagged as she tossed him back towards the river. “Gross! I’m done here.”

“Leave the clean up to us, Miss America!”

Hulkling, Teddy Altman, flew overhead with a rather bulky figure in his arms. As he descended from the sky, it became more apparent that he was carrying a green-skinned man. Brawn, Amadeus Cho, was one of their newest recruits and important addition to the team. Not only was Amadeus infused with gamma radiation like Bruce Banner and Jen Walters, but he was also freakishly smart.

Teddy dropped Amadeus on the ground. And given his Hulk abilities, Amadeus landed with a massive thump that shook the ground and left the convicts dizzy. 

Amadeus smirked. He looked far leaner than the other Hulks, and shorter too, as he looked only about as tall as Teddy did in his Skrull form. He wore a black bodysuit with purple bars all along the side with white and yellow bars along the chest.

“Finally, I’m out of the lab,” said Amadeus. “I’ve been waiting to get some real field experience!” He punched his chest as he stared over at the convicts. “Hey, dudes! Do you want to get your faces smashed in by the Totally Awesome Hulk?”

“Brawn, we’re supposed to contain them.” Teddy continued to fly overhead, avoiding as a few convicts tried firing at him with lightning blasts, fireballs, and ice blasts. “Don’t go full Hulk on us!”

Amadeus groaned. “Fine!” He went for gentle punches, at least as gentle as a Hulk could give. He knocked down several convicts at once as they foolishly charged after him. “And, hey, Hulkling, we need to sit down and have a talk about your codename. You’re not a real Hulk. If anyone should get to call themselves Hulking then it’s me!”

“Focus, Brawn!” repeated Teddy. “Patriot, Brawn and I have things covered here. You and America can go clear out the next block. Marvel Boy! How are things going with you and Ironheart?”

Down the street, another wave of convicts was getting their asses handed to them.

Laughing as he took down every convict was none other than Marvel Boy, Noh-Varr. He kept it simple as he only wore a white and green bodysuit that bore a strong resemblance to Tommy’s Speed costume only with white dominating his costume unlike with Tommy’s. Noh-Varr didn’t both with a mask either since he was an alien and nobody would recognize him. Plus, he thought his face was too gorgeous to cover up.

Noh-Varr floated in the air as he kicked a burly convict in the face and sent him flying towards a brick wall. He pulled a pair of laser guns out with the settings set to stun since he was no longer a killer. He was a real hero.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” cheered Noh-Varr as he shot at every convict within range.

The roar of engines overhead distracted Noh-Varr for a split second as he jumped back.

An electric web shot at several of the convicts to stun them about as well as Noh-Varr lasers.

In a moment, an ironed person flew down from the sky. Ironheart, Riri Williams, wore a suit of armor that wasn’t too different from Tony Starks’ Iron Man armor. It bore the same red and yellow patterns, but was built in a way that gave the armor are slightly more feminine appearance. Although, it was still just as tough and loaded with amazing tech.

The recruits that Steve Rogers left them with before returning to retirement proved that they were a perfect addition to the team. Riri and Amadeus were just as skilled as the rest of them even if they still needed a bit more refining.

“We got things covered on our end, Hulkling,” said Riri through the comms. “Marvel Boy and I will help with the booking. How’s everyone else doing?”

“Patriot and I are good on this end,” said America.

Noh-Varr placed his guns back into their holsters. He moved a hand onto his earpiece. “And what about you, Quicksilver?”

A green blur ran throughout the streets to round up the remaining convicts that were lucky enough to hide and run out of sight. However, there was no hiding from a speedster who could cover an immense amount of ground within seconds. 

The convicts were easily rounded up and thrown at the remaining squad cars. They were locked in a daze as superspeed wasn’t very comfortable for those who weren’t used to it. This gave the cops the perfect opportunity to perform mass arrests with the help of the remaining Young Avengers.

Meanwhile, the green blur finally came into perfect view. Tommy Maximoff stood there in his new uniform, he wore a blue and white bodysuit that was perfect for a speedster. Over his chest, the uniform was white with three, blue arrows close together to look like the fast forward symbol. He still kept a pair of goggles on though to help with the calculations, except he no longer worried about keeping them on as he slowly slid them up.

One of the cops stood still as he finished cuffing one of the convicts. “Speed? You got a new look.”

Tommy smirked. “New look. And a new codename. Call me Quicksilver.”

“Fuck you, Quicksilver!” The convict spat at Tommy’s feet.

“May I?” asked Tommy

The cop turned away. “Oh, look! Is that Spider-Man?”

The convict coughed up a storm after Tommy jabbed him in the throat within a split second.

Tommy went over to the rest of his team with Eli joining his side. “Great work, team! We caught all the escapees and prevented civilian injuries. We’ll also work on escorting them back to Rikers.”

“Ironheart,” said Eli, “can you do another scan to make sure everything is clear?”

“You got it, boss!” The jets on Riri’s boots went off as she flew back into the air.

“America,” said Tommy, “how about you open a portal?”

America shrugged. “Fine. I guess I can do that.” She walked over to the cops as she offered her assistance. She stomped her foot to the ground as the stars on her wrists began to glow while a star-shaped portal opened beneath her that would lead directly to the prison.

“Let’s get back to cleaning up this mess,” said Teddy as he got Amadeus and Noh-Varr to join him.

*~*

Curling underneath the covers, Billy moaned. He tugged on the sheets as he released sharp breaths as he dreamed of frightful dreams.

_Memories from the battle against Mother replayed before him. Mother’s arrival from Hell, her takeover of the city, the possessed Avengers, and, eventually, the death of Wanda. Billy cried as the dreams grew darker on him. He witnessed images of Tommy, Teddy, and all his friends lying dead on the ground with the other Avengers._

_And standing over them was Billy himself, drenched in their blood. His eyes were pitch black and he bore a wicked grin on his face._

_“You will be the death of everyone, William. Nothing you can do will save them.”_

Billy threw the covers off him as he was jolted awake. He took several deep breaths with tears staining his cheeks. He couldn’t believe what he just dreamed and hated himself for even having such a nightmare.

It took a moment for Billy to recompose himself. To forget the nightmare enough where he could breathe normally. It was then that he noticed he was naked and remembered that he wasn’t in his bedroom; he was in Teddy’s room.

Billy reached over to grab his underwear from the floor then found the rest of his clothes just as Teddy walked in with only a towel on.

“Hey, babe.” Teddy closed the door behind him before taking the towel off. Since he was home, Teddy paraded around in his bulky, Skrull form. And since he was in his bedroom with his boyfriend, he could do it nude too. “You sure did sleep hard. How you feeling?”

“Good.” Billy lied. “I just can’t believe you let me sleep this late.”

“I tried to wake you up but you weren’t having it.” Teddy finished drying himself before grabbing some clothes to wear. He grabbed some oversized fabric that would be capable of covering his Skrull physique. “So...have you taken more time to think over what I said last night?” Teddy walked over to Billy and wrapped his hands around Billy’s hips. “Since you’re not starting college until the spring, we could use the rest of your break to find a place. That way we don’t have to worry about sneaking around or being extra quiet because of our families.”

Billy chuckled. “So is uninterrupted sex the only reason that you want to move in with me?”

“Of course not.” Teddy leaned over and kissed Billy gently on the lips. “I want to move in with you because I love you. And I want to spend every morning, every day, and every night with you.”

“You are a real charmer, Teddy.” Billy stepped on the tips of his toes to kiss Teddy back since his Skrull form made him so much taller. “But I’ll need more time to think about it. And I should probably talk with Tommy about it first. Maybe he’s thinking of doing the same thing, and if that’s the case then we’ll need to figure out what to do with the house.”

“Hey, no pressure.” Teddy ran a hand against Billy’s cheek. “Take your time to figure things out. And in the meantime, let’s do breakfast. Talos and Soren are fixing waffles.”

Billy smirked. “Sounds yummy.”

They walked out of Teddy’s bedroom and down the hall until they reached the kitchen.

The apartment of the “Altman family” was a rather simple two-bedroom in Brooklyn. It hardly appeared something worthy of the prince of an alien empire or a battle-hardened general and his wife, but it was oddly comforting as the simple things were what they were all denied because of the Kree-Skrull Wars.

In the kitchen, Talos argued with Soren about how to properly cook the turkey sausage. They were both in their Skrull forms since they were equally comfortable about their true identities within the privacy of their own home. Their bickering ended though once they noticed that Teddy and Billy were finally present. 

“Morning, boys,” said Soren. “Sit down. We’re just finishing up breakfast.” 

“Do you want coffee?” asked Talos. “We also have orange juice.”

Billy yawned. “I could go for some coffee.”

“Juice for me,” said Teddy.

Talos brought them their drinks, while Soren brought a couple of plates and silverware. They returned with all the food smelling so delicious. Considering just how awful his nightmare was, Billy looked forward to the coffee and food to help him forget about it.

Talos started to pour some syrup on to his waffles before passing it over to Soren. “Any plans for today?”

“Only the press conference.” Teddy started to inhale the eggs. “We’re going to formally present the new team to the world. And...I think it’s time to publicly announce myself as Prince Dorrek.”

Soren and Talos stopped eating as they stared blankly at Teddy.

“Are you sure about that, Teddy?” asked Soren. “We already have support from the United Nations. And our people are living well in secret at New Asgard. Should we risk rocking the boat?”

Teddy nodded. “I think it’s time for the Skrulls to no longer live in the shadows. We can’t be afraid, especially since we know that one day that the Radicals will return as will the Kree.” Talos and Soren both frowned at the mention of the Radicals. Billy took a bite of his waffle as this wasn’t the first time he noticed how depressed they got whenever the Radicals were mentioned or their daughter. “It is for the best that we make ourselves known through our terms. I will not allow the worst of us to define the rest of us.”

Talos smiled and reached for his coffee. “Well then...I think that is a wise decision. One that I think your mother would’ve made were she still with us.”

“Thank you, Talos. And Soren, how do you feel about my decision?”

“You are doing it for the right reasons and I can tell you will craft this message perfectly,” said Soren. “As much as I worry about the consequences, we can’t stay hidden forever. Now maybe the best time to act, especially with all the goodwill you’ve built as an Avenger. I support your decision, my prince.”

Billy took a sip from his coffee. “I’m sure the press conference will go well. And if not then I’ll warp reality to fix it.”

Teddy chuckled as he leaned over to kiss Billy’s cheek. “Hopefully, we won’t need you to go Demiurge on everyone. But I do appreciate the offer.”

*~*

Reporters flooded the pit with cameras flashing and recording everything that was to happen.

The Young Avengers stood on stage all in uniform with even Billy joining them in his Wiccan uniform. They arrived at the stage after the chief of police finished giving a report on capturing the escaped convicts. The police chief happily reported that work the Young Avengers accomplished as all the escapees were brought back to Rikers with the prison fully operational once more. 

As the police chief finished speaking, the mayor took to the stage next. “We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Young Avengers,” said the mayor. “They proved in spite of age that there is nothing stopping people from doing the right thing and protecting our communities. While the city owes numerous superheroes for their work in protecting us; it is the Young Avengers who remain a constant figure for the city even with our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man swinging about Queens. That is why I wish to fully recognize the Young Avengers as New York City’s official superheroes.”

Applause filled the conference room. Tommy and Eli were escorted to the front of the stage to shake the mayor’s hand first before the rest of the team got the opportunity.

Eventually, the speeches end as the press were allowed the chance to ask their questions.

“Wiccan, this is the first time we’ve seen you in uniform for about six months. Does this mean you’re officially returning as a full-time Avenger again?”

Billy shook his head. “Not yet. I’m only here to support my teammates.”

“What of Hawkeye, Stature, and Ms. Marvel? Should we expect them to return soon?”

“Your guess is as good as ours,” said Eli. “They’re all welcome to join us again, but as of now, they haven’t expressed an interest to return.”

“Ironheart! Brawn! How does it feel to be a Young Avenger?”

Amadeus threw a fist in the air a little too hard that it generated a mini earthquake. “It’s great!”

Riri pulled Amadeus’ arm back to his side. “Easy, big guy. To your question though, I’m grateful to be here. The team’s become like a second family to me.”

“And we’re happy to have them here,” added America.

“Speed! Is the name change official? One of the officers mentioned you wanted to be referred to as Quicksilver now.”

Tommy nodded as he also took out his cell phone. “It is. And as of a millisecond ago, I also updated all of my social media profiles so if you’re looking for Speed then you’re out of luck. I’m going by Quicksilver now.”

“And what about you and Marvel Boy? Are you still a couple?” asked one of the city’s gossip reporters.

Noh-Varr smirked as he leaned over to kiss Tommy on the cheek. “What do you think?”

“What about you, Hulkling and Wiccan?” asked the same reporter. “Have you kept the flame burning?”

Teddy smiled along with Billy as they locked hands. “Everything’s going well for us too. But...now that I have your attention, I actually would like to bring something up.”

“Are you going to propose to Wiccan!” asked another reporter.

Billy started to cough as that was the last thing he expected.

Teddy shook his head as he went to the center stage. “No! Not that. At least, not yet. Or maybe. We haven’t talked about marriage. We’re young.” Teddy covered his face. He hadn’t expected that question either. “Let me start over.” Teddy took a deep breath. “I actually wanted to publicly announce something. As you’re all aware, Noh-Varr is not from Earth. He is part of the Kree race. And...I wanted to come out as well. I’m not an Earthling either. In fact, I am half-Kree and I am half-Skrull.”

“Some of you are aware of the Skrull attack on Earth back in the 1990s due to all the SHIELD files that became public record after the Battle of Washington. I also wanted to explain what my heritage is so significant. The Kree and Skrull have been at war for over a thousand years, but my mothers defied the odds and fell in love. My Kree mother was the scientist and soldier, Mar-Vell. As for my Skrull mother, her name was Anelle. She was the Princess of the Skrull Empire.”

The conference hall grew silent for a split second before it got loud as Teddy was bombarded with questions. However, he asked for silence so that he could finish speaking.

“And by blood that makes me the heir to the Skrull Empire. My true name is Dorrek VIII, Prince of the Skrull Empire. I, along with around two thousand other Skrulls, have taken refuge on Earth. We were officially granted global amnesty thanks to the support of the Avengers. And while I understand the fear of having a shape-shifting species living among you, I want to assuage such fears by assuring you that the vast majority of Skrulls currently reside with the Asgardians. Only I and a handful of others live outside of New Asgard.”

“I felt that now was the time to properly announce the Skrull presence before trouble came. There are radicals amongst the Skrulls who not only despise me for being a half-breed but who also would like to take over the Earth in an effort to restore the glory of the old empire. However, I do not wish for war or blood to be spilled. I’ve lived amongst you, Earthlings, for over a year now. And with the Young Avengers’ support, I’ve come to love this world and everyone on it. That is why I tell you the truth about who I am. I want you to know that I mean the best of intentions and that I will continue to fight to protect this world as I have done before.”

Teddy gulped. “Any questions?”

*~*

The press conference went about as well as could be expected. Despite being bombarded by questions, Teddy handled things surprisingly well as one would expect from a prince. Now, it was only a matter of waiting for all the news reports that would come that would decide how the public viewed the Skrull presence.

And there wasn’t any doubt that J. Jonah Jameson would full the anti-Skrull bandwagon given his reputation with Spider-Man.

Billy left the team as he felt too exhausted to do much hanging out. His retreat worried them, but they could tell that he looked weirdly tired. So it gave him the perfect excuse to return home and crawl back into bed. He rid himself of his uniform as he conjured his usual lazy clothes. 

Billy walked over to the family shrine that they had set up for years. The addition to a framed picture of Wanda joined the ones they had of their Uncle Pietro and the Vision. He kissed his fingers then placed them onto his mother’s picture before running upstairs.

Closing the door behind him, Billy quickly threw himself to his bed. He gave a heavy sigh before falling asleep.

At first, everything appeared fine, but the deeper he fell asleep, the darker his dreams became. His fingers twitched as he was bombarded with images of death and destruction, while a maniacal laugh echoed in his mind.

_“Their lives are mine as is your soul, William. I will take everything from you.”_

As he slept, Billy began to weep as the voice from his dreams continued to torment him.

*~*

A warp of energy erupted off the Atlantic coast. The warp produced a mighty gale of wind that blew the sand and water everywhere as two figures stepped out.

The first to emerge was Loki Odinson, the famed trickster god who finally turned over a new leaf. And behind him was Nathaniel Richards, the young man who claimed to be from the thirtieth century. Given that he was the one that opened this time warp, Loki was actually inclined to believe the young man’s story.

And that wasn’t including everything they saw from the safety of the time bubble Nathaniel generated that allowed them to travel across the timeline.

Loki dropped to his knees. His dark cloak and pants became covered in sand, while he stared out to the sea. “That...that was far worse than even I could’ve imagined. I honestly don’t see a way to save Billy.”

“I feared that even you wouldn’t know how.” 

Nathaniel walked over to Loki, still in his armor. However, the armor began to slowly disintegrate from his body and retract itself to a wristwatch that wouldn’t look out of place in this time period. He was left wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans as he wanted to look as much like he belonged in this era as possible. 

Nathaniel’s dark hair swooped over his face as he knelt down beside Loki. “We may have to accept the worst outcome to save Billy. I know how much he means to you since he did save your soul, but sometimes一”

Loki placed his index finger over Nathaniel’s lip with Nathaniel seeing Loki’s black, nail polish from the corner of his eye. “Don’t say it...I already know it may come down to that. You don’t get to live as long as I have without seeing that outcome.” Loki sighed. “Not that it makes it any easier. Age and foresight are nothing but a curse.”

“I’m sorry, Loki, for dragging you into this with me,” said Nathaniel. “I just thought it would be easier to convince you and that you’d be the most willing to do whatever was necessary.”

“A wise choice.” Loki moved his legs around so that he could properly sit. “I can’t fault you for seeking the aid of the wisest god in the cosmos. However, I do wish that it didn’t all resort to me doing the deed.” Loki brushed a tear from his eye. The memories of everything he saw from the timestream of the horrors that Moridun unleashed through Billy’s body and with his powers were so revolting that Loki wanted nothing more than to forget them. “How much longer do we have before Moridun awakens?”

Nathaniel checked his watch which converted itself back to a supercomputer. With a few keystrokes, he got all the data that he needed. “A day at most, but it also means we have a window of opportunity. If there’s any chance of extracting Moridun from Billy then it will be when he first awakens as he’ll be his most vulnerable.”

“Extraction…” Loki shook his head. “And if extraction fails then we’ll have no other choice. We’ll have to kill Billy.”

“Yeah...we’ll have to kill him.”

Loki curled his lips then slowly pulled himself back up to his feet. “Well then, Iron Boy. It would seem that you and I have some work to do. Let’s go save the multiverse.”

Nathaniel nodded as he followed Loki’s lead.

*~*

The gentle tap of a pen against a notepad and the tick of the grandfather clock was the only bit of noise going on in the offices of Jeff and Rebecca Kaplan. Billy and Tommy sat on a couch, while their therapist sat across from them on a rather cozy chair. 

Rebecca Kaplan was a middle-aged woman with dark hair and glasses. She dressed rather sensibly so as not to run the risk of triggering any of her other clients. And out from her radiated this motherly energy that Billy and Tommy found comforting, if not a little painful given their grief.

For the last couple of months, Billy and Tommy would see the Kaplans for grief counseling once a week. Things were going pretty well for them, at least that’s what Jeff and Rebecca claimed. Normally, Tommy would sit with Jeff, while Billy would be with Rebecca, but this week they thought a group session would be particularly helpful.

“So...I had the chance to see a recording of the press conference yesterday,” said Rebecca. “Well, my sons were watching it. I just caught the tail end of it.” She chuckled a little. Given their civilian identities were public knowledge, it wasn’t surprising that she knew so much, especially after months of counseling. “It looks like you’re both making some impressive progress. Tommy, I’m glad you took Jeff’s advice about taking on a new hero persona. And I was actually surprised to see you on stage, Billy. And in uniform too.” 

Tommy nodded as he went first. “It’s been helping. Even though all I did was adopt our uncle’s nickname, but it still feels good. Mom told us all the time that I reminded her so much of her brother, taking on the mantle makes me feel closer to him. To both of them actually.”

“That connection can be pretty powerful and comforting. Especially since you’re the co-leader of the team. I imagine the responsibilities can be pretty overwhelming.”

“Yeah, it is. But I’m adjusting,” said Tommy. “We all are. It took some time but the team is finally getting the swing of things.”

“Good.” Rebecca looked over to Billy and smiled. “How about you, Billy? How are you?”

Billy curled his lips and brushed his bangs back. “I want to say good. I mean...I feel mostly fine, but.” He sighed. “I’ve been having really bad nightmares now for the last couple of weeks. I mostly ignored them, but they’ve been getting worse. It’s starting to affect my sleep.”

Tommy scooted closer towards Billy, resting a hand over his.

Rebecca sat up as she could sense there was something more. “Do you remember anything from these nightmares?”

“I...not really. I think it’s just guilt. Like I know it’s not my fault that mom died,” said Billy, “but my subconscious won’t let it go.”

“It’s not your fault, Billy,” said Tommy.

Rebecca nodded. “Tommy’s right. Your mother made the choice to protect you. But it’s understandable that some part of yourself would blame yourself. Let’s try an unpack these nightmares a little more. If they’re that bad then I could see about prescribing you a sleeping aid that might help. Although, I’m sure you could probably find a more effective treatment through a mystical solution.”

The joke didn’t go unappreciated as Billy cracked a smile.

*~*

Back at Young Avengers’ Headquarters, there was so much banging that it drove America half-insane as she was trying to do her nightly meditation.

America slammed her bedroom door shut as she flew down to the ground floor. She started to swear in Spanish while searching around to find out who was making all the noise. Then she finally found her troublemakers.

In their miniature lab, Riri and Amadeus were working on some new projects. As America got closer, she could overhear them talk about augmenting Riri’s current armor to be better equipped for bigger threats.

“Can you quiet down or stop for the night?” America leaned against the doorframe as she glared at them both.

Riri and Amadeus stopped working for a moment as they hadn’t realized America was there.

As much as America liked having them both around, they were awfully careless. Their resident super-geniuses got so easily wrapped up in their research and development that they forgot about people living at the base.

Out of her armor, Riri looked almost as young as Kamala even though she was nineteen. Her skin tone made her appear a little darker than Eli, and she allowed her hair to grow into a perfectly, curly afro. She stood rather comfortably in grease-covered sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“Sorry, America,” Riri said, sweetly.

Amadeus nodded. He still was green since he couldn’t reverse his Hulk appearance like Jen, but he wasn’t nearly as out-of-control or large as Bruce, mostly because he was only seventeen but his Hulk just wasn’t quite as Hulky. On the bright side for him, being slimmer meant that he could wear some mildly comfortable clothing. 

“Yeah. We’re sorry,” said Amadeus. “We’re not keeping you up, are we?”

America groaned at them. She loved them both, but she wanted to hit them too. That was the problem with super-geniuses

They recruited Riri from the Starks Foundation. Riri proved just how brilliant an engineer she was as she easily reversed engineered Tony’s Iron Man armor back before she graduated from M.I.T., which was exceptionally remarkable since she was only fifteen at the time. While Tony never got the chance to meet her, Pepper took a special interest in Riri and got her all the resources she needed to excel. And that’s how her name eventually ended up in Steve Rogers’ hands.

As for Amadeus, he had a parental connection. His mother, Helen Cho, was a friend of the Avengers and even helped them a couple of times. That assistance almost resulted in Ultron killing her, but she survived an almost fatal shot and continued to raise her children. Eventually, Amadeus’ super-intellect got him on Bruce and Tony’s radar as his intelligence rivaled that of Shuri. Bruce, especially, found him super helpful with his incredible intellect during the Snap years since he was one of the few people that did remain alive. It would be Amadeus that played a crucial role in helping Bruce gain balance with the Hulk.

However, about a year ago, Bruce would start radiating massive gamma radiation. They believed it was a consequence of wielding the Infinity Stones, but either way, they needed to siphon the radiation from him. And in the process, Amadeus got into contact with the radiation, causing him to become a Hulk too.

And that’s how these two eventually found their way to the Young Avengers.

“I’m trying to chill. This is my chill time,” stressed America. “So could you nerd out in the morning? Or else I’ll portal you both into a volcano.”

Riri and Amadeus took the hint as they started to shut down their experiment and pack up for the night.

“Muchas gracias.” America started to walk out of the lab.

“Hey, America!” said Amadeus. “What’s up with Billy?”

America turned back. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t notice how tired he looked?” asked Amadeus.

Riri nodded. “I wouldn’t say tired. He looked like Hell. Like has he been doing some magic stuff with Doctor Strange lately?”

“No.” America crossed her arms over her chest. She noticed that Billy looked a little weaker than usual, but she took it as him not keeping up with his training and a lack of sleep. She hadn’t considered that maybe there was something more going on. “I’ll talk to Teddy and Tommy about it. Good looking out, you two.”

“No problem,” said Riri and Amadeus.

*~* 

“Order twenty-eight, your food is ready.”

At a Greek restaurant in Brooklyn, somehow they convinced themselves of going out on a double-date. Billy, Teddy, Tommy, and Noh-Varr crammed into this hole in the wall. Luckily, their presence didn’t stir any rabid fans as it was a local restaurant and most New Yorkers were surprisingly chill about superheroes walking around. Even with the news from today’s press conference.

As their orders were called up, Teddy and Tommy ran up to the pickup window to get their gyros.

Tommy poured more sauce on his and Noh-Varr’s gyros before grabbing a couple of packets of ketchup for their fries. “Have you heard some of the reports yet?”

“Some of them.” Teddy remained in his Earthling disguise since he didn’t want to tempt fate by walking around as a Skrull publically. He added a few condiments onto his gyro as well, while leaving Billy’s mostly untouched. “I honestly expected more hate speech. I’m almost disappointed in the lack of death threats and demands for deportation.”

“I think that has to do with the fact that the Skrulls are with the Asgardians.” Tommy grabbed one of his fries and started to munch on it. “As much as the Neo-Nazis and skinheads want to claim the Asgardians for their white power, the fact that Thor basically told them to fuck off and threatened to send them all to Niflheim has forced the most of them to back into their skeleton-filled closets.”

“Go, Thor!”

Meanwhile, Billy sat across from Noh-Varr at the table. 

Noh-Varr already had to refill his soda three times and was about to down it again before they even got their food. “Hey, are you actually planning on joining the team again?”

Billy smirked. “Why? Is Tommy a mess without me around to make fun of?”

“Actually, Tommy’s been doing very well. He’s toughened up a lot and adjusted to be a leader pretty well. I think Eli’s taken notice too. We may get to the point where Eli gives up his position so Tommy is in charge of everything.”

“That’s a terrifying thought.” Billy took a sip from his soda. “But why are you interested in seeing me back on the team? If my absence hasn’t been affecting Tommy.”

Noh-Varr chugged the last of his soda. “You’re missed. Since the girls left, it’s pretty noticeable how much the others miss having you around, properly. If it wasn’t for Riri and Amadeus providing constant distractions then I’d imagine they’d be pretty miserable.”

Billy slowly nodded. “Oh...that makes sense. I’m not sure if I’m ready to come back just yet though. Soon though, I hope.”

“Well, there’s always a spot waiting for you.” Noh-Varr quickly left to refill his drink just as Teddy and Tommy returned with food.

Teddy passed Billy’s plate over. “There you go, babe. Just like how you like it.”

Billy smiled. “Thanks, babe.” He kissed Teddy on the cheek.

Tommy rolled his eyes while he taking a bite of his gyro. “You have such basic taste buds, Billy. At least add a little sauce and a tiny piece of onion.”

“I like what I like, Thomas!” Billy took a bite. He moaned as it tasted absolutely delicious.

“Leave your brother alone,” said Teddy. “So what if he’s a picky eater. We still love him.”

Billy laughed for a moment before he started to cough. Teddy patted his back as he thought he was simply choking, but it wasn’t that.

Billy spat out his food and his entire body began to tremble.

Noh-Varr came back to the table just as Tommy and Teddy screamed at Billy.

Billy’s eyes started to roll back as he fell from the table and onto the ground. His collapse caused everyone else in the restaurant to panic with Tommy thinking it was a seizure. Tommy was about to treat it as such until Billy stopped moving and they witnessed a startling sight.

There was blood coming out of Billy’s eyes. However, instead of the blood being red, Billy’s blood was black. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Billy, I swear. I'm not doing fucked up things to be cruel. It's all to further the plot!
> 
> And, yeah, I know Jeff is a cardiologist. I just wanted to make him a psychiatrist too so I have more of an excuse to pull Billy's comic parents into the fic.
> 
> And if you haven't figured out the song title, which is obvious, it's Destiny's Child "Survivor" because Noh-Varr told me to use that one because the Young Avengers are all survivors.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	2. Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I just wanted to post a chapter before the spring semester starts next week. I'm going to be busy since I'm taking one course to get a certificate. I will keep you updated on that front. 
> 
> Also, I left a little teaser in this chapter for the final storyline in this series. I'm sure those of you who are familiar with the comics will catch it in a heartbeat.
> 
> As for the song title, it's "Monster" by Meg & Dia. Are there any other emo/recovering emo kids that remember them? No? Just me?

Chapter 2: Monster

“What is going on with you this time, William?”

Doctor Stephen Strange unleashed a series of mandalas over Billy as his magic sought to uncover the source of Billy’s latest fainting episode. Once Strange finished healing Billy, he started to work on the source of the bleeding. The magic washed over Billy with Strange examining him as closely as possible.

Billy floated over a table with his clothes and the table stained with his blood. Billy’s eyes would occasionally twitch as he took gentle breaths. 

Strange floated beside Billy with his magic locating the source of Billy’s damage. “Alright, William, give me a sign of what’s wrong with you. People don’t bleed black blood unless there’s something seriously wrong. Is this just a lingering side effect of Lilith’s ritual that I hadn’t anticipated?”

As Strange continued his work on Billy, he locked them away in a room at the Sanctum Sanctorum given how drastic Billy’s condition was. Strange wanted to preserve the sterility of this space while also giving him the privacy he needed to fully examine Billy.

Outside the mahogany doors, Tommy paced frantically. He had his hands running through his hair as he muttered prayers under his breath.

Meanwhile, Teddy sat on the staircase with his face covered in his hands as he had reverted back to his Skrull form. He wept silently as he panicked over Billy’s well-being.

Noh-Varr leaned against the banister as he watched them both. “Guys, take a breather. Billy will be fine. He’s survived tougher shit than this.”

Teddy turned back. “And what if he’s run out of luck? We don’t know what caused him to bleed and faint like that. It’s not like last time when he was just exhausted.”

“Give us some answers, Dumbledore!” Tommy slammed his hands against the door. “What the hell is going on with my brother?”

“Enough of that!”

Wong ran to the foyer from another corridor. A blast of orange sparks erupted from Wong’s hand to strike Tommy. Chains of orange magic wound themselves around Tommy’s wrists to keep him from trying that a second time.

Wong grabbed onto Tommy’s arm as Wong looked at him and the other boys. “It is unwise to interrupt Strange right now. He is invoking delicate magics that could potentially do more harm to William if he isn’t careful.” Wong pulled onto Tommy’s arm as he led them downstairs. “Come with me. This way you won’t get in Strange’s way.”

Tommy tried to put up an argument about how he wanted to remain close to Billy, but there was no point. Wong had a tight grip on Tommy. 

Noh-Varr patted Teddy on the back as he helped him downstairs as they followed Wong into the kitchen too.

Billy’s taken to Strange once more. Begin to conduct some tests on him to figure out the nature of his bleeding since things not looking well.

*~*

On an asteroid in the Andromeda Galaxy, several Skrull-looking persons gathered inside a decrypt castle. The walls crumbled and most of its former occupants died in the thousands of years since it was first built, but it remained their home.

A wizened man with dark-green skin stepped from the group. He used a staff for support while pulling a fur coat closer to him for warmth.

In front of them was a radiant sword that bore a sky-blue aura. The sword was locked in a stone podium. Several runes were etched onto the blade that was a mix of two, ancient languages to mask the sword’s true name and purpose from outsiders.

“The time is nearly upon us,” said the elder. “Excelsior senses the chosen king. We approach the dawn of Dorrek Supreme’s ascension.”

A purple-skin woman with green hair knelt before the elder. She wore old, golden armor that clearly seen better days. “Direct us where to find our king, Master M’ryn.”

M’ryn shook his head. “You mustn’t be so hasty, K’ky. If we leave the safety of Castle Tarnala then the Kree and the servants of the false queen will learn of our existence. They already fear Prince Dorrek because he is a hybrid; if they learn that more hybrids exist then they will destroy us.”

“We can’t stay hidden forever, master!” A blue-skinned woman that wore golden armor similar to K’ky objected to M’ryn’s claims. “The five of us are all that remains of the Knights of the Infinite. If we do not join Prince Dorrek now then we risk extinction then he’ll never be able to claim his birthright!”

“Varra is right.” A bulky, blue-skinned man stepped forward with his dark hair swaying. He wore the same golden armor as the others except his armor was forged to cover his thicker frame. “All hope will be lost for the unification of the great empires if we die before joining Prince Dorrek. The sacrifices our ancestors made would be for nothing.”

A blue-skinned woman approached M’ryn with her crimson robes swaying. She bowed in respect as her dark hair falling from her shoulders. “Father, please listen to Lan-Zarr and the others. You know they’re all right. We cannot turn away from Prince Dorrek now, especially as Excelsior is clearly showing to us that his reign is now.”

M’ryn sighed. “I understand the urgency, Mur-G’nn. But still…”

Before the other knights could resume their protests, a vortex of blue energy opened before them. The knights drew their weapons and magic as they gained some unexpected company.

From the vortex emerged Loki and Nathaniel.

Loki immediately ran for Excelsior. “Are you sure this is the right weapon, Iron Boy? I don’t see how it could be of much use to us.” However, as Loki was about to touch the sword, a surge of electricity traveled from the sword to strike Loki. He was sent a few yards back to where Nathaniel stood and shook his head. “By Odin’s beard! Nevermind. This sword is perfect.”

Nathaniel pulled Loki up by his arm. “And if you had listened to me then you’d know that we can’t touch the sword. Only its chosen wielder can.” Nathaniel raised a hand up with a repulsor blast building up from his palm as he saw the knights draw closer. “I wouldn’t get any closer to us. I got enough firepower to blast you all into the next century.”

M’ryn pointed his staff at the intruders with a build-up of magic gathering. “What are you trespassers doing here? This is sacred ground in uncharted space.”

“That’s the benefit of future technology,” said Nathaniel. “The uncharted becomes easier to chart.”

Loki rolled his eyes. He pushed Nathaniel’s arm down before holding his hands up in the universal gesture of surrender. “Forgive my metal friend and I’s intrusion,” said Loki. “He came from the future to tell me of a friend who is in danger. And we need this sword to save said friend because of the sword’s mystical properties. So could you explain how we pull the damn sword out of its stone?”

Lan-Zarr raised a glowing sword of his own. He stepped closer towards Loki just as Nathaniel was opening up slots from his gauntlets that would fire missiles. “It matters not if you desire the sword. Only the chosen king can pull it from the stone.”

“Bah!” Loki gagged. “This sword is no better than Mjolnir. It is useless to us.”

“Yes, it is, trespasser!” K’ky raised a lance with Varra wielding a similar weapon as their twin lances radiated with golden light. “Now leave or else the Knights of the Infinite shall slay you in the name of our future king, Dorrek!”

Loki pushed Nathaniel back as he didn’t want to get stabbed. However, he stopped when he picked up on what K’ky said. “Excuse me. Dorrek?” said Loki. “Your future king is Prince Dorrek?”

Varra squinted her eyes. “You know him?”

Loki chuckled. “Know him? We’re friends...maybe not friends. But we’re on good terms.” Loki coughed at his own lie. “That’s probably an exaggeration. Anyways, I know the guy. His boyfriend actually saved my soul from a demon.”

Loki shoved Nathaniel. “And you, why didn’t you tell me that Teddy is supposed to wield this sword?”

“Hey!” Nathaniel brushed the smudge marks from his armor. “I thought that would be obvious. I took you to the future. Didn’t you see him?”

“Wait! That Hulk-sized man was Teddy?” Loki shook his head. “Clearly the images of Moridun using Billy’s powers to terrorize the multiverse took precedence. You should’ve filled in the gaps!”

“Enough!” Mur-G’nn retracted the webs of pink magic gathering around her hands. “You know where Prince Dorrek is? And yourーfriendly with him?” She waited for Loki to nod. “Then take us to him, at once.”

M’ryn shook his head. “No! Mur-G’nn.”

Mur-G’nn raised a hand to keep M’ryn from getting any closer. “It is time, father! Prince Dorrek must claim Excelsior now.”

“And he will!” interrupted Loki. “He’s on a planet called Earth. Don’t ask me why it’s called Earth. We, Asgardians, refer to it as Midgar since the Earthlings are so unimaginative when it comes to names.” Loki coughed once more as he walked over to the knights. He waved a hand over their faces to figure them out. “Who would’ve thought there’d be more Kree-Skrull hybrids. Teddy will certainly be pleased to know he’s not the only one in the cosmos.”

“Teddy?” asked K’ky.

“His Earthling name. He uses it since him and the other Skrulls living on Earth are doing so as refugees.” Loki clapped his hands. “So, I’ll bring him here! That’ll give me a chance to fill him in on the situation and keep him being a total mess. Back to Midgar, Iron Boy!”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes underneath the helmet. “It’s Iron Lad!”

“Still don’t care.” Loki gestured for Nathaniel to open another spacial vortex. “As for you, noble knights, do know that I shall return with your precious prince! It will take some time though since travel between galaxies is fairly lengthy.”

“Why should we trust you?” asked Varra. “We know nothing about you other than your an Asgardian.”

Lan-Zarr nodded. “The Asgardians are noble people, but you don’t strike me as a noble one.”

Loki smirked as he pushed Nathaniel through the portal. “While I’m hardly the pinnacle of honor, I do have a code. Besides, as I said, your prince’s mate saved my soul. I will repay that debt. And if to save his soul from a demon requires that I bring you your prince so he can claim that glowstick then so be it.” Loki fell into the vortex with it closing behind him.

As they disappeared through space, the Knights of the Infinite were left very confused but also very hopeful that Loki would indeed keep his word.

*~*

After several cups of tea and lots of talking, Wong finally returned from Strange’s office with the latest on Billy’s condition.

Wong smiled. “He’s stable now. Strange is still diagnosing the cause of the attack.”

Tommy sighed. The little relief he felt was short-lived as they still weren’t certain of what happened to Billy. 

It wasn’t difficult at all for Noh-Varr to pick up on his boyfriend’s feelings. In fact, Tommy showed no intention of masking his emotions as he was on the verge of crying. Noh-Varr stepped away from the kitchen counter and handed over a cup of tea to Tommy with hopes of calming him. “Does Strange have any guesses?” asked Noh-Varr

“Strange’s working theory is that this is because of Mother.”

Teddy slammed a fist on the table. “Of course! This is a curse, isn’t it? Lilith did this to get back at Billy for stopping the ritual and sending her back to Hell!”

“Possibly,” said Wong. “Although we haven’t eliminated the possibility of a curse, we actually don’t think this is something Lilith did intentionally.”

They all looked at Wong with curious expressions.

Wong understood the confusion given how little they all understood magic. “The ritual Mother conducted on Billy was meant to infuse her son into him. Billy allowed this to happen because of a demonic contract he signed with her, remember?” They all nodded. “And when Mother killed Wanda, she violated the contract and Billy was freed. However, it’s possible that Billy is experiencing some side-effects from the ritual.”

“But the ritual failed,” said Tommy. “Didn’t it?”

“Of course, but stopping a ritual is like stopping in the middle of an operation,” said Wong. “There are consequences. It’s most likely that Mother’s lingering magics have become like an infection in Billy.”

Teddy nodded. “So all he needs is some mystical antibiotics?”

“Exactly.” Wong beckoned them to follow him. “We will keep Billy here for the night for further observation as we continue to uncover the exact cause of this infection. The best thing you can do is go home and rest. Then return in the morning.”

“I want to see him,” said Tommy.

“He’s asleep now. Let him rest without interruption.” 

Tommy bit his tongue. As much as he wanted to barge in the room to see Billy, he knew better than to risk his safety. “Fine...I’ll be back bright and early.”

“Thanks, Wong,” said Noh-Varr as he guided Tommy and Teddy out of the Sanctum. “Goodnight.”

“Night, boys.”

*~*

With the initial examinations done, Strange forced himself to take a little breather. He heard Wong finally force the boys out of the Sanctum which meant he could finally work in proper peace. Wong was hardly the type to make any noise, but Tommy’s constant yelling was grinding Strange’s gears.

A peaceful Sanctum meant Strange could actually concentrate. He reviewed all the texts and scrolls that dealt with the fallout of demonic rituals both the successful and failed ones. So far he found nothing that actually pertained to Billy’s case. Mostly the lack of information came from the fact that no other Sorcerer Supreme or a sorcerer of significant stature survived an encounter with a Hell-Lord the way that Billy did.

Strange closed the Warren Tome and tossed it into the junk pile. “Useless. I should’ve known that Salem witches wouldn’t be much help.” Strange reached for his tea. “I’m beginning to wish I still had the Time Stone. It would be far easier to actually uncover what’s going on with the boy.”

As Strange lost himself in research, Billy’s eyes opened as he was left on the table. Billy’s eyes were brown for but a split second before they became pure black with dark veins slowly bulging along his face.

Billy rolled off the table to examine himself. He stared at his hands and rest of his body with a relatively dull expression. “Interesting. Not the body I would’ve chosen, but the power is remarkable.”

Strange stopped reading from the tome that his predecessor, the Ancient One, wrote on demonic possessions. He jumped from his chair once he saw Billy was standing. “William! You shouldn’t be up.” His concern though faded instantly. While he hadn’t paid attention to Billy’s words, the evidence that something wicked was in the Sanctum couldn’t be any more apparent. “By the Vishanti, what have you done to William? Release him!”

Strange raised his fists with orange mandalas forming. 

Underneath Billy, there was a similar mandala appearing as Strange worked on a binding spell. The entity within Billy cackled before slamming his foot down. The mandala shattered into sparks then Billy waved his hand to cause the sparks to turn into sharp blades that he flung after Strange.

An orange barrier emerged around Strange as he responded quickly to shield himself. Strange unleashed a blast of magic directly at Billy that sent him through the door.

Billy crashed into the railing and fell to the first floor.

Strange floated out of the room just as Wong started to yell. Wong ran in from the Artifacts Room to find Strange warning him that they were in danger. Before Wong could question Strange, Billy floated back to the second floor with black blood running from his eyes.

“By the Vishanti,” whispered Wong. “What ungodly magic is this?”

Strange generated webs of orange magic that he used to chain Billy with Wong joining him. “If I were a betting man,” said Strange, “my guess is that Lilith’s ritual didn’t fail.”

Wong worked with all his might to restrain Billy too. “Then that meansー”

Billy cracked a smile with black blood appearing in his mouth too. “Correct, sorcerers. I, Moridun, am in control of the Demiurge now.”

The webs shattered with Moridun flexing Billy’s body. A dark-blue aura formed around Moridun as he ensnared Strange and Wong then lifted them into the air. “Let’s test the limits of the boy’s power, shall we?” said Moridun.

*~*

Teddy got virtually no sleep that night. He spent so much time worrying over Billy’s well-being that he became a tired mess.

Teddy went over to the kitchen where Soren sat with a cup of coffee as she read the news from her tablet. 

“Morning, Teddy.” Soren looked away from the tablet. “You hungry? Want me to make you something?”

“No thank you. I just need coffee.” Teddy poured himself a cup. “I’m worried about Billy. There aren’t any updates about his condition.”

Soren frowned. “He’ll pull through. He’s a tough one.”

Teddy agreed, but it didn’t make him feel any better. He joined Soren at the table before taking a long drink. His eyes darted to their mantle where there was a holographic photo of Talos and Soren’s daughter. “You know...I don’t think I’ve ever really asked how you’re doing. How long has it been since you lost her?”

“Lost her is a generous description.” Soren looked over at the holographic photo. She hid the urge to cry even as while she and Talos wanted a reminder of their daughter, it was also a painful one to look at every day. “But it’s been about twenty years now. She abandoned us not long before we found you.”

“And you still have no idea where she is? Or is she’s okay”

Soren shook her head. “She joined the Dard’van. It’s possible she’s already dead. Even though Carol defeated the Supreme Intelligence and the Nova Corp have largely stopped much of the Kree Emperor’s expansion efforts, the Radicals will keep fighting. Especially since they perfected the Super Skrull formula.”

“I’m sorry, Soren,” said Teddy. “Here I am crying over Billy’s health when you have to live every day not knowing what happened to your daughter.”

“Don’t apologize for your feelings, my prince.” Soren forced herself to smile through the pain as she reached over to touch his hand. “Veranke made her choice. As did Talos and I. We can only pray that the old gods show us mercy in reuniting our family.” 

Soren patted Teddy’s hand and returned to her morning routine. “You should go check on Tommy before going to see Billy. If anyone is as much of a wreck as you, it’ll be him.”

“You’re right. I’ll go do that.” Teddy chugged the coffee as the heat didn’t bother his Skrull physiology much. Once it was done, he ran to the bathroom to get ready, leaving Soren alone for the remainder of the morning. 

*~*

Sleep proved just as elusive for Tommy as it had for Teddy. 

Tommy stumbled downstairs at a sluggish pace with only a tiny pair of trunks on. He yawned and stretched when the most delightful smell struck him as he came closer to the kitchen.

Of course, Beyoncé was playing from the speakers with Noh-Varr singing along.

“‘Cause if you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it.”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Are you trying to drop a not so subtle hint about getting married?”

Noh-Varr stopped singing and shaking his ass as well. He was cooking some eggs in the tiniest pair of briefs imaginable. He might as well have been cooking in the nude since his underwear choice hardly left anything to the imagination.

“I’m in no rush,” said Noh-Varr. “I’m still young and beautiful. I have several decades of prime birthing years before my shit goes bad.”

Tommy chuckled as he sat at the counter. “You’re lucky I love you.”

Noh-Varr scrapped some eggs onto a plate then pushed them over to Tommy. “And I love you.”

“So I got a text from Teddy.” Tommy started to stab the eggs and took a quick bite. “He wants to check on Billy. I figured we’d give it another hour before we barge in the Sanctum.”

“Do you plan on calling the cranky wizard first?”

“I don’t need a wizard’s permission to visit my sick brother.” 

Noh-Varr fixed himself a plate before cutting the stove’s heat off. “Alright. Alright. I’m not getting in the way. I’ll follow you to any fight and be your bodyguard.”

“As you should.” Tommy took another bite. “Thanks for making breakfast.”

“My pleasure. I figure you’d need a hot meal since we kinda didn’t get to finish our dinner.”

Tommy nodded. He started to enjoy himself, forgetting about Billy for a moment when the front door opened. They both jumped back to see Billy walk inside with a broad grin on his face.

Tommy threw himself off the chair and ran at superspeed to Billy. His hands were on his brother’s shoulders as he stared at him wide-eyed. “Billy! What the hell are you doing here? I thought Strange would keep you at the Sanctum at least until we came to get you.”

Billy shook his head. He looked perfectly normal as he showed no signs of Moridun being in control. “Nah. Strange gave me the all-clear and said I could go home. Of course, I couldn’t use magic so I got an Uber.”

“So I guess all you need was some mystical drugs to fix you up?” asked Noh-Varr as he walked over from the kitchen. “Did Strange figure out what exactly was wrong with you?”

“Just some backlash from Lilith’s ritual,” said Billy. “Oh! And I figured we could celebrate my good health by doing dinner at the compound. We could get the team and all the other Avengers together.”

Tommy shook his head. “Are you sure? You were in really bad condition yesterday. Shouldn’t you see about resting at least for the rest of the day?”

“Plus, that’s kind of short notice,” said Noh-Varr. “Carol’s off-world again. And I doubt we could get anyone to come from New Asgard or Wakanda.”

Billy shrugged. “Then we’ll just invite who we can. Come on! Let’s just try and have some fun. It’s been ages since we got everyone together that didn’t involve a press conference or a funeral.”

Tommy resisted the voices in his head to follow his gut as he instead chose to give in to Billy’s request. “Fine. We’ll do that. I’ll work on setting up the party, you just rest. And call Teddy! He’s been worried sick too.”

“Will do!” Billy kissed Tommy on the cheek then started to run upstairs but stopped midway. “Oh. And, Noh, from now on can you wear underwear that actually leaves something to the imagination? The family shrine is right there!”

Noh-Varr grabbed a pillow to cover his privates and started to slowly walk back into the kitchen.

*~*

The Avengers compound was about as crowded as could be expected given the short notice.

A massive table was dragged out to seat everyone who could make it. Of course, all the Young Avengers were present to celebrate Billy’s recovery, which included Kamala since America portalled her to town. 

Rhodey joined them as did Bruce, Jen, Jane, Monica, Peter, Sam, Bucky, and even Thor since he was back from his adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

It seemed a little odd that Strange and Wong weren’t present, but Billy explained that there were some issues at the Hong Kong Sanctum that they needed to tend to.

Spread out before them was a massive feast. Despite protests, Billy conjured everyone’s favorite foods and made sure that there was plenty of beer for Thor.

Thor slammed his wooden chalice to the table as it was emptied again. He shaved much of his beard off and shed several pounds too, although, he still remained fairly thick compared to before Thanos’ first invasion. 

Thor was busy telling a riveting story of his adventures in space to half the table. “So, there I was with Rabbit and Groot facing down the mighty Adam Warlock, while Quail was weeping over Gamora or something.”

Kamala and Peter were too enthralled with everything Thor said to question him.

Monica leaned over towards Jane though. “I thought their names were Rocket and Quill?”

“They are.” Jane took a sip of her wine as she allowed Thor to continue to ramble on.

Meanwhile, Riri and Amadeus scooted their chairs closer to Rhodey to trap him from both sides.

Rhodey was working on his fourth hot dog when he felt the ambush coming. “What exactly do you want this time?”

“Access to Starks’ nano-tech,” said Riri.

“We really want to upgrade all the gear,” said Amadeus.

Bruce laughed as he poured more syrup on his giant plate of pancakes. “Easy, Amadeus. You get too cocky then you’ll end up with a burnt arm like I did. It took me all these years to recover from using the Infinity Gauntlet.”

“No offense, Banner, but I know what I’m doing.” Amadeus pointed to himself. “That’s how I got to become the Totally Awesome Hulk. I learned from your mistakes.”

Jen snorted as she grabbed another grilled chicken breast. “Cocky, little shit, isn’t he?”

Bruce nodded. “He’ll learn eventually.”

Across from them, Sam and Bucky told a story about their last mission. They found some Hydra officials that escaped when the old Avengers were eliminating the Hydra compounds.

“We shouldn’t expect more Hydra agents, should we?” asked America.

“Only stragglers,” said Sam. “I doubt there’s anyone like a Strucker or even a Zemo still running around.”

“That makes me feel a little better,” said Tommy.

Eli returned from the restroom and went back to sitting across from Billy and Teddy. Billy appeared just fine as he smiled and participated in all the conservations as best he could.

Eli poured himself a refill on sweet tea. “Sorry that we didn’t check up on you last night, Billy. It was pretty late when we got the call, so we figured we’d let you rest. I’m glad you’re doing better.”

“It’s cool, Eli.” Billy stabbed his pasta with a fork. “And I’m sorry for worrying you all over something so small. But I’m glad it also got us all together.”

“Cheers to Billy’s health!” said Noh-Varr as he raised a cup.

“Yes!” Thor said, finally distracted from his storytelling. “Cheers to…” He leaned over towards Jane. “What’s his name again?”

“Billy!” said Kamala and Peter.

“To Billy!”

Billy started to take a sip from his drink when orange sparks ignited nearby. His eyes darkened as he sensed a presence approaching them.

The sparks ignited into a larger vortex with Strange stepping out.

Thor immediately raised his chalice once more. “Wizard! It’s good to see you again. Join us!”

Strange slammed his fists together with mandalas forming. “Get away from him!” He flung one of the mandalas to cause all the chairs to get pushed away from the table. Only Billy remained at the table as he stood perfectly still as he continued to eat.

Teddy sprang to his feet. “What the fuck are you talking about, Strange? Get away from who?”

“Moridun!” Strange fired another blast of magic at Billy.

However, Billy raised a single finger. The blast of magic gathered around the tip of his finger before he finally blew it out like a birthday candle. “Well, that’s just rude! You spoiled my surprise!” Moridun got on his feet with the dark veins growing over his face with the black blood pouring from everywhere. “I knew I should’ve killed you, sorcerer. Curse this body’s moral compass.”

Everyone screamed at the sight.

Teddy’s jaw dropped as he tried to approach Billy only for Eli to pull him back. “Billy...Billy!”

Moridun cracked his neck back to look in Teddy’s direction. “Your boyfriend’s dead, Prince Charming. I’m all that’s left.”

“Hell no!” Tommy clenched his fists as he was about ready to pounce. “Get the fuck out of my brother’s body, demon. Don’t think I won’t kick your ass even though you’re in my brother’s body.”

Mordiun chuckled. “Adorable. The pathetic brother thinks he’s actually capable of doing something useful. If you weren’t able to save your mother, what makes you think you can save your brother?”

For once in his life, Tommy was left completely still. His mouth hung gaped with tears welling up as he didn’t know how to come back from that.

Thunder roared around them.

Thor and Jane summoned their hammers to their side. Stormbreaker and Mjolnir transformed them both into proper attire, befitting combat as they didn’t know what to expect. 

The other Avengers started to gear up, at least, those who could. Jen shifted into her She-Hulk form, while Rhodey activated his War Machine armor. Monica started to glow with energy as Bruce started to growl as menacing as he could. Bucky, Sam, and Peter were left without much as they were left to rely on hand-to-hand combat. Bucky and Peter had a minor advantage since Bucky had his metal arm, while Peter had two pairs of web-shooters.

Meanwhile, the Young Avengers were left puzzled as to what they could do since even though Moridun was in control, they could only see Billy.

Strange tried once more to trap Moridun with crimson bands. Moridun rolled his eyes. “If it didn’t work the first time then what makes you think it’ll work this time?” Moridun grabbed onto the bands and shattered them. Then Moridun swung his hand to manipulate Strange’s Cloak of Levitation to send him crashing onto the compound’s roof.

Jen tried to punch Moridun only for Moridun to halt her momentum. “Oh, Jen.” Moridun laughed. “Billy really liked you. You were his second-favorite Avenger.” Moridun swung his hand once more. He directed Jen to crash into an incoming Bruce, which sent them both flying towards the woods. “Home run! I should be on the Yankees!”

A repulsor blast struck Moridun. “The Mets are better!” said Rhodey.

Moridun swallowed a follow-up repulsor blast before firing it back towards Rhodey. He was stopped once again when Peter webbed his hands.

“You can’t do your magic thing without your hands!” said Peter.

“Really? Is that what the boy with all the daddy issues thinks?” Moridun belched fire to burn Peter’s webs. He moved a hand to the ground as it started to break. “Remember what Mysterio did to you? He poked at your fears and guilt, I can make them real.”

Out from the ground rose a zombified-looking Iron Man armor. The broken armor started to crawl from the ground as it approached Peter. “You...let...me...die...Pete.”

Peter’s eyes widened in terror and he dropped to the ground.

Gunfire halted the zombie Iron Man’s advances. Bucky and Sam did their best there when Monica flew in to strike Moridun as hard as she could.

Moridun crashed into the table, which created a big mess. Moridun rose back to his feet and licked the bit of ice cream from his face. “Good shot, honey.” Moridun snapped his fingers to mess with Monica’s powers. Against her will, Monica fired photon blasts at Bucky and Sam that narrowly missed but did its job.

Monica felt her powers fading as she dropped to the ground.

Lightning flashed with Moridun reacting quickly to catch the blasts that Thor and Jane sent. Moridun coiled the lightning into balls that he held in both hands. “So this is the power of Thor? How pathetic.” Moridun laughed as he stared at them both. “Want to see what a real god can do?”

Moridun blasted Thor and Jane with their own attacks.

Meanwhile, Strange floated from the rooftop towards the Young Avengers. He covered his shoulder as he dropped. “You, kids, need to go! We’ll try to hold off Moridun, but you have to figure out a way to save William on your own.”

“How though?” asked Kamala. “None of us are experts in performing an exorcism. Should we call the Pope?”

“Just go!” Strange gathered his magic. He was about to jump back into the fight against Moridun as Bruce and Jen came back from the woods. 

The Avengers were doing everything they could, but it was clear that they wouldn’t last long.

Tommy cried as he couldn’t understand why this was happening to Billy or how to stop it. However, he knew that Strange was right. “We have to go.” Tommy turned to his team. “America, portal us out of here.”

“Where?”

“Start with anywhere but here then we’ll figure out a better plan.”

America nodded as she stomped her foot to the ground. A star-shaped portal opened with everyone slowly sinking into it.

Teddy looked back to Billy, watching as the demon used his boyfriend’s body as a weapon. He found himself crying just as hard as Tommy was then there was the raw terror that it might be impossible for them to save Billy.

Teddy shook his head. He reminded himself that he couldn’t think like that. He had to believe that saving Billy was still possible.

The portal swallowed them completely with it closing just as Moridun noticed their disappearance.

“No!” Moridun tried to re-open their portal when Bruce punched him. For a moment, Moridun dropped to the ground as the strength of a Hulk proved superior, but Moridun wasn’t so easily defeated. “They can’t go. I can’t let them ruin my plans!”

“You’ll just have to deal.” Bruce grabbed Moridun and tossed him towards the compound, crashing through the windows. “I’ve smashed gods bigger than you, Moridun. Kicking your ass won’t be a problem.”

Moridun floated from the broken glass with a broad grin. Bands of dark-blue magic gathered around him as he generated an unholy amount of power. “Oh, Banner. If only a man of science could truly comprehend what we are. I’ll show you what I can do with Demiurge's power.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are very appreciated!


	3. Old Scars/Future Hearts

Chapter 3: Old Scars/Future Hearts

A star-shaped portal opened in the middle of a crowded park. It was still the middle of the day, which was odd considering that it was almost sunset when the fight started. People panicked and started to run away as the Young Avengers came into view. To minimize the panic, Teddy quickly shifted into his Earthling disguise, while Amadeus tried to hide himself within the group.

The team narrowly escaped a battle against Moridun, but in leaving, they abandoned the Avengers to face Moridun alone. And given the state of things when they left, it was a losing battle.

“We need to go back.” Amadeus’ veins bulged along with his muscles. His inner Hulk raged against running away from a fight.

Eli placed a hand on Amadeus’ shoulder. “You know we can’t do that. We’d only get in the way if we all tried to fight Moridun.”

Riri raised her hand. “I get that Amadeus and I are the newcomers here, but I thought you guys stopped Moridun’s resurrection.”

“Clearly we failed.” Tommy snarled before punching a tree. “That means mom died for nothing. And now Billy...he’s gone.”

“Billy’s not gone!” Teddy glared at Tommy with tears in his eyes. “You can’t give up on him. He has to still be in there.”

Kamala nodded. “Right! We gotta have faith. I mean, America’s still here so that has to count for something.”

Amadeus raised an eyebrow. “Why does that matter?”

Noh-Varr smirked. “America comes from a paradise dimension that Billy creates after ascending to godhood.”

“The Utopian Parallel,” corrected America.

“Right,” Amadeus and Riri said, slowly. While they were told much of the exploits of the team before joining, they were conveniently left out on America’s origins.

America stared at her star markings. She could still feel her powers, which meant that Kamala’s theory had to be correct. “Demiurge’s domain exists next to the Utopian Parallel. The fact that I still have my powers means that there’s a chance Moridun hasn’t completely won yet. 

Teddy nodded. He had a faint smile on his face as he desperately clung onto a tiny piece of hope. “Then we can save Billy! We just need to figure out how to get Moridun out of Billy’s body.”

“So maybe my suggestion to find the pope was a good one,” said Kamala. “I can’t think of anyone else with the spiritual fortitude to exorcise a demon as powerful as Mordiun then the pope.”

“Let’s hold off on raiding the Vatican.” Eli went into his pocket to grab his phone. He saw that the time was a few hours off. “America, where did you portal us to?”

America shrugged. “Not sure. I was more concerned with getting us far away.”

Riri stared at her gauntlet, which was linked to the Stark Network. “Oh! You got us about three thousand miles away from Moridun. We’re in San Francisco. Golden Gate Park to be exact.”

“San Francisco?” Kamala cringed. “My parents are going to kill me when they find out about this field trip.”

Noh-Varr patted Kamala on the back. “You’ll be fine. There’s a better chance Moridun will kill us all first before your parents do.” Everyone glared at him since what he said wasn’t helping. He slipped back over to Tommy but noticed that Tommy looked equally annoyed.

“What do we do now then?” asked Eli. “Who can help us?”

Tommy smirked. “Well, we’re in San Franciso. I know a couple of people who can help us. And maybe our solution to save Billy is something only ants can solve.”

Everyone started to smile as they knew exactly what Tommy was thinking.

*~*

As the Young Avengers sought help, the Avengers wished they had more assistance.

Moridun laughed while he sustained a barrier to shield himself from the Avengers’ assault.

Outside of the navy-colored barrier, Moridun watched the futile attempts. Thor and Jane slammed their hammers against the barrier as Monica blasted the barrier with photon energy, while Bruce and Jen pummeled the barrier with their gamma fury. Even with their rage empowering them, not even Bruce and Jen could break through the barrier.

Moridun brought a hand to his face while channeling more power. “If only Mother realized how powerful William Maximoff was sooner than she could’ve snatched him when he was even younger. Oh well, I suppose it was well worth the wait.” Moridun smirked as he retracted the barrier. “The power I inherited from my parents and the power of the Demiurge makes me invincible!”

Bruce threw a fist at Moridun’s face but was left frozen in place just an inch away from making contact. Bruce struggled to pull his arm free. “Damn! Not even Thanos was this strong.”

“Thanos was a whiny puppy compared to me.” Moridun licked the black blood that streamed from his mouth. “You struggled against a titan. And now, you fall before a true god.” A dark wave of energy swallowed Bruce with him yelling in the process. The other Avengers watched aghast as Moridun lifted Bruce into the air.

Moridun threw Bruce at Jen before turning his body against the other Avengers. He continued to use Bruce as a wrecking ball as he cackled maniacally. 

It was only when a blast of orange magic struck Moridun from behind that he released Bruce. Moridun glared over at Strange as a dozen duplicates of Strange appeared in an attempt to chain Moridun with bands of red magic.

“Now, Thor!”

Thor came down from the sky and slammed Stormbreaker into the ground. A shockwave of lightning rippled out before a focused blast of lightning struck Moridun. Billy’s body proved resilient enough to Thor’s assault thanks to his power and the enhancements Moridun granted him.

Moridun broke free from Strange’s hold. “That wasn’t nice, Odinson! Should I tell your sister that you hit little boys? Or should I free her from Hel so she can punish you?” Moridun smirked. “Better yet.” 

Bands of dark magic wrapped themselves around Stormbreaker, ripping it from Thor’s grip. Before Thor could blink, Moridun slammed the hammer of Stormbreaker against Thor’s face, sending him flying back.

Moridun laughed as he brought Stormbreaker to his hands. “Hm, this hardly seems worthy of Demiurge. I should toss it in the trash.” Moridun looked up as Strange attempt another spell to trap him. “But first.” Moridun tossed Stormbreaker at Strange and was about to use it to cut Strange to piece when a ring of green fire appeared to trap him

Stormbreaker fell to the ground with Strange able to live another day.

Meanwhile, Moridun hissed as the green fire irritated his senses. “Who dares to use such a binding spell?”

“I dare!”

Loki stepped onto the compound with Nathaniel right behind him. Nathaniel had his gauntlets raised, prepared to fire the strongest repulsor blasts his armor could generate.

As for Loki, he was all smiles as he stared at Moridun. “You don’t belong here, kid. If I didn’t want to see my friend suffer then I’d send you back to mommy dearest.” Loki flung his hands out as he channeled all the power he could muster up in short notice. He muttered a language that only Thor could recognize as it was an old Asgardian language. 

A black vortex emerged behind Moridun with its slowly pulling him in. “Your tricks won’t work on me, Loki!”

Loki kept his hands raised and took several breaths to maintain his focus. “Maybe not, but that’s why I brought an insurance policy.”

Nathaniel nodded. “That would be me!” Nathaniel blasted Moridun with the repulsor blasts to push Moridun into the vortex.

Before Moridun could attempt to escape, Loki sealed the vortex.

Loki laughed as he dusted his hands of the green sparks. “Banishing Moridun to another dimension won’t hold him for long. We need to act fast. However, I have to say, you’re pretty useful, Iron Boy.”

Nathaniel groaned. “What will it take for you to call me by my real name?”

With the compound safe, the Avengers started to approach them. All of them were very injured and struggling to move in the slightest. The ass-kicking that Moridun gave them was unlike any that they experienced before that didn’t involve an alien army.

Thor flinched several times while holding onto his ribs. He got as close to Loki as he could without scaring Loki away. “If Loki insults you then that generally means he likes you.” Thor stopped in front of Loki with a curious look in his eyes. It was a mix of joy but also rage. “It’s good to see you, brother.”

Loki smirked. “Likewise, brother.” Loki leaned over to poke at Thor’s gut. “And there is more of you now. I have to admit I like this huskier you.”

While Thor swatted Loki’s hand away, Bruce approached Loki from behind. “Who would’ve thought the trickster would save us.”

Loki yelped as he got closer to Thor for his own safety as his body felt the pain Banner inflicted upon him all those years ago. “Banner…” Loki then looked over to spot Jen closeby too. “Oh, Odin’s beard! I forgot there were two of you!”

“Actually, there’s three,” said Jen. “Amadeus is with the Young Avengers.”

“Then they’re far away from here? Good. We have a chance then.” Loki pulled himself away from Thor then turned to Strange. “You! Wizard, find every spell you can that will help in combatting a Nephilim.”

Strange squinted his eyes. “Nephilim?”

Loki groaned. “You’re Sorcerer Supreme and you don’t even know what a Nephilim is! Did you forget that Moridun’s father, Sammael, is a fallen angel and his mother is Lilith? What happens when you mix angel and human blood together?”

Strange rolled his eyes as he didn’t need to be talked down to. “You get a Nephilim. Or in this case, a super Nephilim, considering that his parents are Hell-Lords. I’ll find the spells. But what are you up to, Loki?”

“Yes, what are you up to, Loki?” asked Jane.

“Ah! The Lady Thor!” Loki waved at Jane. “Well, you see, my friend here is from the future and warned me all about Moridun taking possession of William. We’ve been working on a way to extract Moridun from him but we’ve found nothing but dead-ends.”

Nathaniel nodded. “But we figured out a really good plan. We just need you all to stay out of our way and let the Young Avengers handle things.”

Bucky shook his head. “First of all, who are you again?”

“And why we would we leave this to the kids?” asked Sam.

Nathaniel smiled. “As Loki said, I’m from the future. And that’s all you need to know for now.” Nathaniel retracted his helmet to put the Avengers at ease. They were surprised to see that he was indeed just a kid. “You do notice how you’re all alive, right?”

“Yeah, and?” said Rhodey. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It means William is still alive,” interrupted Loki. “Or at least part of him is. And he is fighting against Moridun’s demonic urges to kill everything in sight. While you can argue that Moridun was testing William’s powers, I’d counter that by saying William is holding Moridun back.”

Peter scratched his head. “Okay, that kinda makes sense since we’re dealing with magic. But why should we leave Moridun to the Young Avengers?”

Monica agreed. "What would stop Moridun from trying to kill them as he did us?"

“They’re his other family,” said Loki. “If there’s anything that will keep what’s left of William alive then it will be the Young Avengers. But like the metal boy said, stay out of our way and let us handle things! Let us be off, Iron Lad.”

“Ironー” Nathaniel stopped himself and almost found himself about to cry. “You actually called me by my name.”

Loki flicked his wrist to open a green portal. “Hurry, boy. I won’t wait much longer.”

Nathaniel started to make his way towards the portal and jumped into it. Loki was about to jump in after him when he heard Thor call out to him.

“Be careful, brother,” said Thor.

Loki turned back to Thor and smiled. “You don’t have to worry about me, brother. How many times have I cheated death now?” Loki dove into the portal with it disappearing behind him.

*~*

The Young Avengers stood in the crowded Pym Labs outpost with Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne. They were the best that Tommy could think of for help since he couldn’t picture anyone else being able to help them in this crisis. While Hank and Janet were scientists, Tommy assumed that their research into the Quantum Realm might be of real help.

Hank scratched his wrinkled head as he tried very hard to piece together everything that they just said. “Let me get this straight,” said Hank, “Billy isn’t really Billy anymore. He’s possessed by a demon from a Hell dimension.” Hank couldn’t believe he was actually saying those words aloud. It sounded completely ridiculous even after everything he’s experienced. “And you need our help to figure out a way to exorcise the demon from his body?”

Tommy pushed Amadeus and Riri out of his way as they were busy freaking out over the couple. “Yeah, that sums it up. Do you think you can help us?”

“With something that ridiculous?” asked Hank.

Janet smiled with her wrinkles smoothing out. “What my husband means to say is that we’d be happy to help.”

Teddy beamed with joy. “So what about your powers, Mrs. van Dyne? Cassie mentioned you got some weird abilities from the Quantum Realm.”

“Those abilities are long gone,” said Janet. “And even then, I’m not sure how useful they would’ve been in this situation. Honestly, I think Scott might be more helpful given his blossoming interests in the occult after working with Strange.”

Hank huffed. “Doubt it. Not that it matters. He and Hope went on vacation in Portland.”

America sat herself down on the nearest chair. “And it’s not like we can go to Strange for help. We don’t even know if Moridun killed him and the rest of the Avengers.”

“But you have more Avengers here!”

A brunette blur tackled America, pushing her slightly off her chair. America would’ve kicked some ass had she not seen who pounced her.

Cassie Lang was all smiles while she stared at her old teammates as she hugged America. “Hey, guys! What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“Cassie!” Eli ran over to hug her next with the rest of the team slowly greeting her. “You missed a lot.”

“Obviously.” Cassie finished hugging Tommy when she noticed there was someone missing. “Um...where’s Billy?” They all started to frown as she hadn’t overheard their conversation.

Kamala curled her lips as she tried to explain. “You see...Billyー”

“Is possessed.” Surprising everyone, Kate Bishop strolled into the labs too. She had stuffed her phone into her back pocket as she ran over to start hugging everyone. “I just got a call from Clint who got in contact with the rest of the Avengers. They’re all fine by the way. They got their asses handed to them, but they’ll live.” 

Kate went over to Tommy and gave him a tight hug. “How are you?”

Tommy shook his head. “I feel like shit.”

“At least you got a sexy boyfriend to take care of you.” Kate smirked at Noh-Varr. “You’ve been taking care of him, right?”

“The best of care.” Noh-Varr reached out to hold Tommy’s hand.

Tommy squeezed onto Noh-Varr’s hand as he really needed the emotional support. He looked back at Kate. “What about your mom? Did you solve the case?”

Kate waved her hand side to side. “Sort of. It’s a weird one that involves a crime syndicate and vampires.”

Teddy butted into the conversation. “Vampires? Like the _Twilight_ kind or the _Buffy_ kind?”

“Buffy.” Kate rubbed Teddy’s arm. “And you? How are you, big guy?”

“Scared as hell for my boyfriend. And I’d really like it if someone can help us figure out how to save him.”

“We’re working on it!” Hank sat at a computer monitor as he started to punch in a few keys. He was muttering something over to Riri about how he created his Pym Particles, while he tried to search for anything that could help in exorcising Billy and Moridun through science.

Janet was working on a project too based on her time in the Quantum Realm. She already started to picture some theories which Amadeus was all too happy to help with given his hyper intellect that he referred to as his “Hyper-Mind” allowed him to analyze her theories.

With the geniuses at work, the team had no choice but trust that Operation Save Billy was well underway.

Eli patted Teddy on the back. “Let’s get out of their way. We can try to figure out a plan while they do their science thing.”

“Don’t knock science!” said Riri as she looked over Hank’s shoulder. “It saved the universe after Thanos used the Infinity Stones. It can save Billy.”

“I hope so,” whispered Teddy.

*~*

They crashed for a little over an hour in the lab’s kitchen. Cassie knew where everything was so she could hook them up with the good coffee that Hank thought he was slick enough to hide.

The hot coffee came as a welcome comfort. 

Kamala raised a finger then pulled her hand back before blurting it out. “Your mom’s a vampire now!”

Kate added sugar to her coffee. “Told you it was weird.”

“And she wants to kill your dad?” asked America. “Chica, your family real fucked up.”

“Don’t I know it.” Kate gave a false smile. “So other than this Billy situation...what have I missed? Anything interesting going on in New York?”

Noh-Varr shrugged. “Nothing other than us kicking a lot of ass.”

Cassie went through the fridge to find the good creamer. She handed it over to Teddy since she know much he liked caramel. “What about your big announcement, Teddy? We saw the press conference.”

“Yeah!” said Kate. “Why did you choose now to reveal the Skrulls?”

Teddy dumped a lot of creamer into his coffee. “It just felt like the right time. Earth’s been good to us and things were quiet. I figured it was either now or wait until the Skrull Radicals attacked Earth again. And if I waited that long then I was taking a gamble on what would happen to my people.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” said Kamala. “Better to do it while you’re still in control of the situation.”

Eli returned from hallway and slid his phone back into his pocket. “I got ahold of Sam. And...things are really weird.”

“Weirder than a demon possessing my brother?” Tommy took a sip from his coffee.

Eli nodded. “How about Loki showed up with some dude who claims he’s from the future, and they saved the Avengers and banished Moridun?”

They all nearly spat out their coffee. “Loki’s back!”

Tommy jumped from his chair. “We’re getting Amadeus and Riri. Then we’re kicking that trickster’s ass!”

As Tommy stormed out of there, the rest of the team were quick to follow.

Kate grabbed onto Tommy’s wrist. “Whoa! Hold on there. I’m sure we’re all down to kick Loki’s ass, but why exactly do you want to fight him?”

“Moridun takes control of Billy just when Loki returns?” Tommy shook his head. “That’s too much of a coincidence. Given that Loki started all of this, I’m willing to bet he’s involved in this.”

America shrugged. “I can see that. I’m sold in kicking Loki’s ass.”

Kate held a finger up to America. “Not helping! We need evidence first that Loki is responsible for Billy getting possessed aside from the fact that Mother used to hold his soul.”

They walked into the lab with everyone stopping dead in their tracks as they saw two new faces in the lab with the others. Hank, Riri, and Amadeus poked at Nathaniel’s armor, while Loki spun around in a chair despite Janet telling him to stop that.

“What is this all made out of?” asked Hank. “This armor is far more advanced than anything I’ve ever seen.”

Nathaniel smirked as he enjoyed the attention. “It’s made from a special alloy. It’ll take another hundred years or so before the compound is discovered.”

Amadeus lifted Nathaniel’s arm before gently scratching at the armor. “I’m digging how responsive this armor is. It’s far more organic than even Starks’ nano-tech. Hey, Riri!”

Riri waved her nano-tech gauntlet over Nathaniel’s armor with a blue light washing over it. “Already working on that scan, but it really is beyond me. I can track some of the elements, but it’s just like he said.”

“Enough of this!” Loki jumped from the chair. “Will someone pay attention to what I have to say?”

“Loki!” Tommy ran across the room and wrapped his hand around Loki’s neck as everyone else gasped.

Loki smirked as he phased through Tommy’s grip. “Good to see you too, Thomas. Ah! And the rest of the team is here. Perfect that means less work for me.” Loki conjured a flask to his hand. He took a quick sip of the Asgardian liquor before leaning against a table. “So, let’s talk about the Moridun crisis.”

Tommy glared at Loki. “What did you do?”

“Nothing!” Loki held his hands up. “I am completely innocent in this crisis. In fact, I’ve been busting my ass to figure out a way to save William.”

Teddy rushed over to the table. “And? Do you know how we can get Moridun out of Billy?”

Loki shrugged his shoulders as he gave an uneasy grin. “Yes and no. Do you see that handsome young lad over there? He’s Nathaniel Richards, and he’s from the thirtieth century.”

Everyone looked over at Nathaniel appearing slightly confused except for Hank, Janet, Amadeus, and Riri since they already figured that out from Nathaniel’s armor.

Nathaniel retracted his armor completely to stand in the lab in his casual attire. He started to wave over at them. “Hi! It’s a serious honor to meet the Young Avengers. Y’all are some legendary heroes in my time. Oh! And you can call me Nate!”

“Hi, Nate!” Cassie was the only one to respond as she waved back at him.

Nathaniel blushed as he properly noticed Cassie from the group. He kept on waving for a little while longer. “Hi…”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Go through puberty later, Iron Boy. Anyways, he warned me of Moridun’s coming. He took me to the future and I got to see all the damage that Moridun does with William’s powers...and it’s not pretty.” Loki looked over to America and smirked. “The fact that you still exist means we still have a chance.”

America glanced back at her wrists. The star markings where still there and she could still draw power, but she noticed something was off about them. “Not much...I don’t feel quite as strong as I normally do.”

Loki gulped. “Then we don’t have much time.” He spun away to turn to Hank and Janet. “You, Ant-family, I understand you study the Quantum Realm?”

“Ant-family?” said Hank.

Janet gave a smart grin as Loki as she looked as though she were about to hit him. “We do. How can we help?”

“Be ready to open a quantum gateway. I locked Moridun in a pocket dimension, but he will surely break out soon then he’ll come hunting for all of us. We may need to trap him in a sturdier prison.” Loki turned his attention back onto the Young Avengers as he beckoned them to follow him. He started to lead them out of the lab. “As for the rest of us, we need another mystic as amazing as I am if we’re going to stand a chance at extracting Mordiun from young William. And while I love to say it, the fact that Strange is too much of a hack to be of use is biting us in the ass.”

Eli rolled his eyes. “The Sorcerer Supreme is a hack? If we can’t get Strange to help us then what other sorcerer in the universe will be able to help us?”

Loki stopped in the middle of the hallway. “We don’t need a sorcerer. We need a witch.” Loki went up to Tommy and extended a hand out to him. “How would you like to get your mother back?”

Tommy went deathly still as he thought he was imagining what Loki just said. “Are you serious?” Tears started to swell from his eyes. “You can bring my mom back to life?”

“I know a few tricks that could bring Wanda back to life,” said Loki, “but I’ll need you to do exactly what I tell you.”

“Deal!” Tommy shook Loki’s hand without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Loki smiled. “Well then, kiddies, are we ready to do some grave digging?”

*~*

A fiery, green portal opened with Loki leading the pack to the cemetery. It was well into the night back in New York, which gave them the perfect chance to, technically, defile Wanda’s grave without interruptions.

Kamala gulped as she walked closely with Cassie and Riri. “Why does this sound like the start of a horror movie?”

“I know.” Riri activated part of her nano-tech armor to give her a full gauntlet. “My guts are telling me to run. If Moridun doesn’t pop up then Loki will probably turn Wanda into a super zombie that kills us all.”

“Now that’s a terrifying image,” said Cassie.

Loki huffed at them. “Oh, ye of little faith! My mother was a witch and she taught me all her tricks.” He did a quick twirl as he stopped in front of Wanda’s grave. “Don’t get me wrong, tampering with the dominion of Death is always a bad idea. However, these are desperate times, which calls for desperate measures.”

Tommy walked over to stand beside Loki. “And just how exactly do you plan on bringing my mom back to life?”

“With a lot of magic. And possibly having to strike a bargain with an eldritch entity or two.” Loki rubbed his hands together as his magic burned along the tips of his fingers. “Nathaniel, do you think you can unearth Wanda’s grave?”

Nathaniel nodded. “Give me a second.” He activated a special function within his armor. He focused it within the vicinity of Wanda’s casket so not to disturb the remains of anyone else.

The ground slowly began to break with the dirt rising into the air as Nathaniel altered the gravity within that area to uncover Wanda’s coffin. Nathaniel continued his manipulation of gravity to move the dirt aside then carefully lifted Wanda’s coffin from the ground.

Tommy trembled terribly as he watched Nathaniel. Every instinct in his body told him to stop Nathaniel, but he had to remind himself that he was saving his mom. 

Noh-Varr and Kate saw Tommy shaking so they each grabbed his hands.

Loki scratched his nose then started to push the dirt into the pit with magic so that Nathaniel could leave the coffin above ground. “Alright, I’m going to place an enchantment on each of us to prevent us from smelling anything. And...Thomas, I suggest you try not to look. You’ve been traumatized enough for one lifetime.”

“Just do what you have to, Loki,” said Tommy.

Loki nodded. Sparks of green magic flickered over everyone’s noses and it was just as Loki warned them that he neutralized their sense of smell.

The spell came at the perfect time as Loki went over to the coffin and opened it.

However, something was off as Loki stared at the coffin with much confusion. “Um...Thomas, you did bury Wanda, right?”

Tommy pulled his hands away from Noh-Varr and Kate. “Of course we did, Loki. What the hell are you talking about?” Tommy went over to the coffin with Loki stepping away. That’s when Tommy saw something truly horrifying.

Wanda’s coffin was empty.

“How?” Tommy stuttered. “What! Where’s my mother’s body?”

Everyone gathered around the coffin. As they all expected to see a rotting corpse, instead they saw with their own eyes that it was an empty coffin. 

Teddy shook his head. “It was an open casket ceremony. We all saw Wanda’s body!”

“Did someone else dig her out?” asked Eli.

Riri moved her gauntlet over the coffin to do a scan. A holographic report started to appear with her quickly processing the data as quickly as the computer did. “There’s Loki, Strange, Tommy, and Billy. And a couple of other people. Whoa! I’m picking up some unidentifiable fingerprints.”

“Unidentifiable fingerprints?” asked America. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Amadeus crossed his arms over his chest. “It means someone else was here and removed Wanda’s body.”

Tommy took a deep breath as he started to hyperventilate. He stumbled back with him falling against Kate since she was the closest to him. “You’re telling me someone stole my mother’s corpse! Who the fuck would do something that sick?”

Noh-Varr knelt over to try and get Tommy to breathe normally. “It’s okay, babe. We’ll figure it out. Just give us a minute.” He looked over to Riri, Amadeus, and Nathaniel since they were clearly the smartest ones around. “You can figure it out, right?”

“I can.” Nathaniel used his gauntlet to do a scan. “My armor is currently the most advanced piece of tech on Earth. I should be able to figure out who took her and when.”

Cassie leaned closer to look at the holographic projection. While she understood the numbers, it was the symbols that were really unfamiliar to her. “You really are from the future.”

Nathaniel blushed. “Um...yeah.” He shook his head as his computer picked up some results. “Oh! That was quick. I got it! I can even project us into the proper point in the past so we can do a better job at uncovering who robbed Wanda’s grave.”

“Do it!” Tommy jumped to his feet.

“Okay. Everyone, stay close. Time travel is both science and art. I can’t make any promises that you won’t get lost in the timestream if you stray too far from me.”

They heeded Nathaniel’s warning as they got close to him. Cassie, especially, got close as she held onto his arm, making Nathaniel blush harder.

Within seconds, a clear dome formed over them with Nathaniel activating his armor’s time travel function to project them into the past.

*~*

Nathaniel maintained the dome and managed not to lose anyone as he projected them into the past. To be exact, he sent them back in time to the night of the funeral. The dome maintained functional as their objective was only to monitor the past, not actually intervene.

For a while, they saw nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, they saw Billy and Tommy approaching Wanda’s freshly covered grave as they both showed signs of crying.

Tommy took another deep breath to get control of his breathing. “After everyone left the house, Billy and I visited mom that night. But I don’t remember seeing anyone else at the cemetery.”

“Let’s see if this helps.” Nathaniel adjusted the temporal settings very slowly. An hour after the Billy and Tommy of the past left, two men approached the grave. “Here we go! They have to be the gravediggers.”

Everyone waited with bated breath.

Their patience was rewarded.

One of the men pressed a button on a silver bracelet to trigger the formation of a strange device. It bore several wires and a roaring engine that he took aim at the grave. The other man joined him as he wielded the same device. The ground broke and gravity was manipulated similar to what Nathaniel did in their present.

Slowly, these men brought Wanda’s coffin to the surface. They opened the casket to remove Wanda’s body.

“Who are these monsters?” asked Kate.

It took only a moment for them to get their answer. The men shifted in appearance as they revealed themselves to be Skrulls. Everyone gasped as that was the last thing they expected to see.

Tommy clenched his fist as he glared over to Teddy. “You got two seconds to explain why Skrulls stole my mother’s body!”

Teddy ignored Tommy as his eyes widened. While they were within the safety of the dome, so the people of the past were unaware of their presence, the team could still hear what was going on outside the dome. Teddy held a finger up as he listened very carefully to what the Skrulls were saying.

“I recognize that tongue,” said Teddy. “They’re speaking in a very old Skrull language. Only the Dard’van speak it so fluently.”

“Dard’van?” asked Noh-Varr. “Then those two are Radicals!”

Teddy nodded. “What would the Radicals want with Wanda though?”

Once again, the past answered their questions. One of the Skrulls pricked Wanda’s body with a syringe filled with a green solution. Within a second, Wanda’s body began to shift to reveal the corpse of a female Skrull.

“Holy shit!” gasped America. “Your mom’s a Skrull.”

Loki stroked his chin. “Well, this just got very interesting.”

Nathaniel agreed. He pushed a few holographic keys on his gauntlet. “Shush! I can translate what they’re saying.” His armor’s universal translator activated perfectly. From his armor, the words of the Skrulls were translated into a tongue that they could all understand.

“ _Rest in the embrace of Sl’gur’t of the Infinite Names and Kly’bn the Eternal Skrull, sister,_ ” said one of the Skrulls.

“ _You succeeded in your mission, sister,_ ” said the other Skrull. “ _The abomination and his allies are ignorant of Queen Vernake’s plans. The invasion will be a success._ ”

The Skrulls took the Skrull woman’s body as they returned the grave to its untouched state before they departed for parts unknown.

Everyone was left silent as they tried processing what the Skrulls said, but were left in the dark until finally Teddy started to speak again.

“They would invoke the names of the old gods for their sick agenda!” Teddy seethed as he glared at the spot where the Skrulls were once gathered. “How dare they!”

Cassie shook her head. “Veranke...isn’t that the name of Talos and Soren’s daughter?”

Teddy was distracted from his anger for a moment as his eyes widened in horror. “Oh no! Then that means...Verankeー” Teddy shook his head. “She leads the Dard’van now.”

Eli stared at the ground as he thought more on what the Skrulls said. “And they spoke of an invasion.”

“With undercover Skrulls?” said Kamala. “Or sleeper cells. Like this is totally Invasion of the Body Snatchers!”

Amadeus shook his head. “Wait! I thought even when Skrulls are disguised that they revert back to their Skrull forms when they die? Surely someone would’ve noticed a Skrull instead of Wanda’s body.”

Riri had a finger near her bottom lip as she thought about it for a second. “That solution they injected Wanda’s Skrull with is what revealed her true self. The Skrulls must’ve figured out a formula to mask themselves longer.”

“But they were also able to copy Wanda’s powers.” Loki scratched his head for a moment. “It should be impossible. While Skrulls are capable of using magic, no one could wield the chaos energies of the universe the way Wanda did. Unless…”

Teddy back to Tommy as he knew what it meant. “There is a way. A forbidden Skrull technique that my grandfather ordered all records of it destroyed, but it would appear that Veranke uncovered what remains of the records.” Teddy couldn’t believe that anyone would go so far. While his grandfather was a tyrant, even Dorrek VII had some semblance of morality. “The Dard’van abducted the real Wanda. And...if they utilized this technique then so long as they keep her alive, they can channel her powers to a Skrull.”

Tommy held his hands up. “It doesn’t make sense though! My momーThat Skrull, she fought with us against Mother! If she wasn’t actually my mom then why would she sacrifice herself for Billy?”

Loki snapped his fingers. “Because the Skrull woman truly believed she was Wanda! If the Dard’van is leading an invasion then would have been, mentally, reprogramed to wait to be activated when they’re ready to take over the world.” Loki applauded himself for figuring it out. His victory was short-lived though as he turned back to Nathaniel. “Bring us back to the present. We have a new mission now.”

Nathaniel entered a few keys as he prepared to push them through time again. “What’s the new mission then, Loki?”

“We find the Dard’van and pray the real Wanda still lives.”

*~*

They stepped out of the timestream and returned to the cemetery of their present. Questions of what they saw still buzzed about in everyone’s minds as they tried to come up with solutions to pressing questions. Aside from the need to save Billy and find Wanda, the threat of Skrull invasion was one that couldn’t go ignored, especially how well the Dard’van tricked them into believing the Skrull Wanda was the real Wanda Maximoff.

Amadeus gave a deep breath while they watched as Loki and Nathaniel restored the Skrull Wanda’s grave to normal. “Well...who knew time travel could be so exciting?”

Cassie shrugged. “At least we didn’t get stuck doing a stupid time heist for Infinity Stones.”

“To our main issue though.” Eli waved his hands about as he finished processing the last of his thoughts. “The real Wanda. We need her power to save Billy, right? How are we going to find her when the Dard’van could be anywhere in the universe?”

Loki cringed as he finished fixing the grave. “Isn’t that the billion-dollar question. I could try using my strongest tracking spells and with Thomas here that means I have a strong enough connection to Wanda, but even I doubt those spells will work on a cosmic scale.” He snapped his fingers when he realized his sense of smell was still gone. He quickly reversed his spell on everyone else too so that they could smell things before he forgot again. “Then again, you never know unless you give it a shot. Thomas, I’ll need your semen.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “Excuse me! You need my what?”

“Kidding!” Loki conjured a thin needle. “I just need your blood.”

Tommy, reluctantly, extended his arm over to Loki as he waited for the needle to prick his skin.

Loki was about to prick Tommy only to drop the needle. A cold sweat started to trickle from his forehead. “On second thought.” Loki snapped his fingers as he transported them out of the cemetery to a park across the street from them. 

When they reappeared to view, Loki also changed them out of their clothes to give them their uniforms. He even made Teddy shift into his Skrull form, while activating Riri and Nathaniel’s armor so that they were all ready for combat.

Kate gasped as she noticed a golden bow in her hand. When she reached for her quiver, she found that she was without one. “Um...how do I use this without arrows?”

“It’s an Asgardian energy bow,” said Loki. “Just simulate pulling on the bowstring and it’ll construct a laser arrow.”

Kate followed Loki’s instructions with a purple, energy arrow forming. “Cool!”

Teddy shook his head. “What’s going on, Loki? Why did you suit us up?”

“Because of that.”

A vortex of dark energy opened in the middle of the park. Lightning flashed from the vortex as Moridun stepped out with Billy’s uniform on, except a darker version of it. The red cape was completely tattered with the grey portions being pitch black. And the starry pattern along his sides was gone, replaced with pure darkness as though to symbolize Moridun’s desire to destroy everything.

Jagged cuts formed along Billy’s face with more black blood trickling from the cuts as whatever Moridun was doing to Billy was clearly taking its toll.

Moridun smiled. Billy’s face stretching from the strain of Moridun’s demonic appearance. “So all the friends have assembled. How marvelous.” Moridun spoke with pure venom in his voice. There was nothing left of Billy’s voice, of his compassion when he spoke as it was all Moridun now. “You just saved me the trouble of hunting you down.”

Green magic washed over Loki’s body as he too conjured an outfit appropriate for battle. He wore a scaley, green top over a green shirt with a miniature, horned crown appearing on his head. “Did I now?” asked Loki. “And here I thought I was making this harder on you. I’m playing you like I played your mommy”

Moridun raised an eyebrow. “Do you think I’m so easily fooled, trickster?”

“No, but Billy’s easily distracted,” said Loki.

Waves of green light surrounded Moridun. Then a series of hard punches struck Moridun as it left him stumbling backward until his vision finally shifted enough for him to see Tommy’s attacks.

Tommy kept punching Moridun though, forgetting that he was hitting Billy’s body as he was too focused on the demon. “Get! Out! Of! My! Brother’s! Body!” Tommy ran back for a moment to build his momentum before striking Moridun with a strong punch.

Moridun was sent sailing further into the park.

“Shoot him!” shouted Loki.

Moridun started to pick himself up just as he was bombarded from all sides.

Riri and Nathaniel fired powerful repulsor blasts since they weren’t about to take any chances with a would-be god. Meanwhile, Noh-Varr and Kate provided support fire of their own. Noh-Varr kept pulling the trigger on his laser pistols to blast Moridun with cover fire, while Kate kept pulling on an imaginary bowstring to signal the electronic signal of the bow to fire energy arrows.

The firepower proved useful in momentarily stunning Moridun, but it wouldn’t work for long. Moridun erected a barrier around himself then slammed his foot on the ground to disable their weaponry. 

Even without the laser fire, it didn’t mean they were powerless.

Eli’s shield flew across the park with Moridun catching it just before it struck him in the face.

That’s when America took advantage of the distraction. America flew after Moridun and punched him in the gut before a tiny Cassie jumped from America’s back. Cassie grew back to full-size and locked Moridun in a chokehold.

Moridun dropped the shield before tossing Cassie off him. He then reached to grab America by the face as she was flying after him again. He slammed America to the ground just as Kamala used her stretchy arms to smash Eli’s shield at him from behind.

Moridun stumbled forward as he fired a lightning blast towards Kamala only to miss him. But with his back turned, Moridun failed to notice Eli jumping at him. Eli grabbed Moridun in a chokehold too and tried to toss him to the ground only for Moridun to phase his body.

Eli stumbled to the ground as the plan didn’t go as he expected.

Moridun started to float in the air with dark-blue magic building up around his body. He channeled Billy’s powers for his own wicked means when a heavyweight crashed into him.

Once again, Moridun having his back turned would lead to disaster for him.

Teddy flew Amadeus into the air then tossed him at Moridun. As much as it pained Teddy to hurt Billy, he reminded himself that this wasn’t the real Billy they were fighting. 

Amadeus smashed his feet into Moridun’s back and sent him crashing to the ground. Amadeus was quick to jump out of the way as Moridun wasted no time to get back up. The rest of the team started to get out of the way too just as Teddy swooped in to grab hold of Moridun from behind.

“I know you’re still in there, Billy.” Teddy did his best to restrain Moridun as he wrapped himself around Moridun’s arms and chest. “Fight this son of a bitch. Don’t let him win!”

Moridun chuckled. “Oh, poor sweet, Dorrek. You still think Billy lives. You really should accept the fact that he’s dead.”

Teddy huffed as he had no intention of listening to a demon’s words. “If Billy was really dead,” said Teddy, “then why are we still alive? Between yours and Billy’s powers, you could just blink us out of existence. So either you’re not as tough as you think you are or...Billy still has some control.”

Moridun growled as he hated the challenge Teddy posed to his power and authority. Moridun used magic to shock Teddy into relinquishing him.

As Teddy fell, a green blur shoved Moridun away.

Tommy latched onto Moridun to push him as hard and far as he could. “I’ll save my brother and send your sorry ass back to Hell, baby Satan.”

Moridun laughed as he pushed Tommy off him. “Do your worst, little Quicksilver.”

Tommy rolled onto his side as Teddy got up to help him. Tommy brushed the blood from his bottom lip. “We will.”

A green vortex opened behind Moridun once more. Moridun turned his gaze over to Loki to find him channeling powerful magic once more.

“You really think that’ll work again?” asked Moridun. “I won’t be fooled aー”

Surprising everyone, a blast of golden energy struck Moridun and sent him into the vortex.

Before Moridun could escape, Loki closed the vortex once again. Loki fell to his knees as he hadn’t expected to use so much magic without any proper time to recover. “Good shot, Iron Lad!”

Nathaniel shook his head. “That wasn’t me.”

“Oh? Was it Ms. Williams then?”

Riri landed on the ground. “Nope. It was them.”

Riri pointed up to the sky where two, Skrull-looking beings floated above them. They both wore a set of golden armor with a blue-skinned male carrying a massive railgun. 

They landed nearby with the team anticipating another fight only to have Loki and Nathaniel run interference.

“Easy! Easy!” said Nathaniel. “They don’t mean us any harm.”

Noh-Varr raised his pistol at their visitors. “Really? You expect us to believe that they’re not Super Skrulls working for the Dard’van?”

The two knights immediately dropped to their knees. The larger, blue-skinned man even dropped his railgun. “Forgive us for our sudden arrival. The metal boy and Loki Odinson are right though. We come in peace. I am Lan-Zarr of the Knights of the Infinite, and this is my comrade-in-arms, K’kyy.”

K’kyy, the pink-skinned woman with green hair, nodded as she looked up. “We’re here to see the prophecy fulfilled and protect the chosen king.”

Loki groaned. “I told you that we would deal with this later! I thought you, knights, were smart enough to listen?”

“We sensed the danger to our king!” Lan-Zarr jumped to his feet. “And it is fortunate that we arrived when we did! Otherwise, who knows what would’ve happened to Prince Dorrek.”

“Prince Dorrek?” said Kate. “Um...Teddy, are these your knights?”

Teddy shook his head. “I never seen these people before in my life.”

“It is because we’ve lived in secret.” K’kyy bowed before him again. “Like you, we are also hybrids of Skrull and Kree blood. Our kind has been waiting millennia for one like you to take the throne. And now that you’re here, we must take you to Castle Tarnala so that you can fulfill your destiny!”

Teddy backed away from K’kyy and Lan-Zarr as he wasn’t sure about them, especially given the immediate crisis of saving Billy from Moridun. “What are you talking about? My destiny!”

Lan-Zarr nodded. “Yes. It is your destiny, Prince Dorrek, to claim your title as Dorrek Supreme and become the King of Space.”

Teddy’s eyes went as wide as possible as he started to stammer out a response. “Me? King...of...Space? Me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuuun! That's right, it's almost time for King of Space Teddy. Also, have y'all seen the promotions coming out for Empyre? There is a VERY sexy cover with a shirtless, Skrull Teddy that dropped and I'm going to need like thirty copies of it.
> 
> Gear up for the next chapter as Moridun does more damage to the Young Avengers as they go on a quest across the universe to find the Scarlet Witch!
> 
> "Old Scars/Future Hearts" by All Time Low.


	4. Bring Me to Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're approaching the end of the story. I won't say much else until the very end so as not to spoil things. As for the song title, it's clearly "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence.

Chapter 4: Bring Me to Life

“Me? King...of Space? Me?” Teddy repeated those words as he stared at Lan-Zarr and K’kyy.

K’kyy nodded as she carefully approached him. “I understand this is a lot to take in at once, my prince. But you must come with us. It is the only way we can ensure your safety and make certain you can attain your birthright.”

Tommy groaned. He threw himself in front of Teddy to keep Lan-Zarr and K’kyy from getting any closer. “You’re not going anywhere with our friend. He’s staying on Earth with us, where he belongs!” The other Young Avengers agreed as they gathered around Teddy to shield him.

“You don’t understand!” Lan-Zarr growled as he sought to get closer to Teddy only for America and Amadeus to shove him back. “Prince Dorrek, you are far too important to stay on this dirtball of a planet. It is your duty to bring unity to the Skrulls and Kree.”

“Unity to the Skrulls and Kree?” Teddy furrowed his eyebrows. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I speak of your destiny. You are Dorrek Supreme reborn,” said Lan-Zarr. “Back when the Skrull and Kree were still a young species, they began their millennia-long war. It was during these early years that there was an initial end when the Kree ultrawarrior, Soh-Larr and the Skrull war-queen, Ryga’a, fell in love. The two would have a son, the first of the Kree-Skrull hybrids. And he would grow up to become known as Dorrek Supreme.”

K’kyy nodded. “Dorrek Supreme put an end to the first Kree-Skrull War as he gathered followers from both sides and other hybrid children. However, the peace did not last as our two species went to war once more and Dorrek Supreme died before having a true successor. It was prophesied though that Dorrek Supreme would be reborn and bring true peace to our people. That is why you must come with us, Prince Dorrek, for you are Dorrek Supreme.”

Noh-Varr scratched his head as he thought back to all of his Kree schooling. “We never heard of a Dorrek Supreme. Not that the Supreme Intelligence or Kree Emperor would allow such knowledge to be made public.”

“But Teddy still can’t go anywhere!” said Kamala. “What about saving Billy?”

Lan-Zarr squinted his eyes before recalling what they learned of Teddy’s life on Earth. “Oh! The prince’s consort.”

“Consort!” Riri started to chuckle. “They’re not married, bub. They’re just dating.”

Amadeus crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s more complicated than that. You blasted Billy in another dimension. Well, not the real Billy. He’s possessed by a demon.”

Lan-Zarr and K’kyy weren’t sure how to respond to such a peculiar situation.

“It doesn’t matter now.” Loki grabbed onto Teddy’s arm and started to drag him over to the knights. “Moridun will return soon. And we’re running out of options, so we have to go with the knights.”

Teddy pulled his arm free from Loki’s grip. “Like hell I do!” He quickly glanced over to Lan-Zarr and K’kyy. “No offense. I’m sure you and your fellow knights are great people. But I have a boyfriend to rescue.”

“That’s exactly why you must leave!” Loki grabbed onto Teddy’s face. “I met with the Knights of the Infinite. They are in possession of a relic that could help Billy, one that only you can wield.”

“Why didn’t you say that sooner!” Tommy butted his way into their conversation. “Let’s go get it then!”

Teddy squinted his eyes at Loki as he could sense something else. “If that’s true then why didn’t you make us meet with the knights sooner? Instead, you wanted us to go after Wanda. If the relic can help us一”

Loki backed away. “The relic is the more dangerous route. It could work...or it might not. I felt using Wanda’s powers would do a better job of guaranteeing we could save Billy. But since we’d have to look across the universe to find her.”

“We have to rely on the relic.” Teddy curled his lips and nodded. “Alright. I understand.” He turned to Lan-Zarr and K’kyy. “I guess I have no other choice but to embrace my destiny. Take me to Castle Tarnala.”

“Yes, my prince,” said Lan-Zarr and K’kyy. K’kyy pressed a few keys on her gauntlet to unmask a golden starship above the park. Lan-Zarr was about to escort everyone to the ship when Loki stopped them.

Loki frowned. “Moridun will return soon. We can’t afford to leave the Earth defenseless.”

Eli shook his head. “But the Avengersー”

“Will die,” said Loki. “What little is left of Billy cannot protect the Avengers from Moridun. His connection to them as a whole isn’t strong enough for him to resist Moridun’s will.”

“Then what do you purpose, Loki?” said America.

Nathaniel gulped as he saw through Loki’s plan. “Some of you will need to stay. Billy’s connection to the rest of you is strong enough that he’ll be compelled to protect you.”

Kate nodded as she grabbed her bow. “Understood. Tommy, go with Teddy. Whatever Loki’s plan is, I got a feeling you’ll be needed.”

“I can’t leave you.” Tommy stared at Kate with tears in his eyes.

“We’ll be good.” Noh-Varr wrapped his arm around Kate’s shoulders. “Take Riri and Amadeus with you too. The rest of us will stick around on Earth.”

“Are you sure?” asked Teddy as he stepped away from the ship.

Cassie smiled. “We got this! Go do whatever it is you need to do, King of Space.”

Teddy brushed some tears away. He quickly went over to hug Cassie, while Tommy ran over to hug and kiss Noh-Varr. They all said their farewells as Teddy, Tommy, Amadeus, and Riri joined Loki, Nathaniel, and the knights.

The rest of them watched as the starship ascended to the sky to leave for parts unknown.

Eli tightened the brace on his shield. “Are we ready?”

Kate drew her bow, while Noh-Varr raised his pistols. Cassie shrunk down so she could stand on Kamala’s shoulder.

America cracked her knuckles. “It’s up to us.”

Now, all they could do was wait for Moridun to return.

*~*

Inside the starship, K’kyy flew them out of the Earth’s atmosphere and prepared the ship for warp travel. The inside of the starship didn’t appear out of the ordinary. It reminded them more of a Quinjet or Wakandan ships, but it could handle space travel.

Tommy got up from his chair and stared out into space. “How long will it take use to get to the castle?”

“About two to three Earth hours,” said K’kyy as she was finished inputting the coordinates.

“Pretty fast.” Teddy tried not to think about the fact that he was back in space. After spending so many years wandering the cosmos with the other refugees, he had grown accustomed to being on Earth.

“This is our fastest ship, my prince,” said Lan-Zarr. “We wanted to be sure we could reach you in time after our elder, M’ryn, foresaw the danger you were in.”

Loki conjured a coat for himself to stay warm now that they were back in space. “Well, I guess you did us a favor by coming. In the meantime, I’ll see if I can scry for Wanda’s location. Not that it’ll do us much good in warp travel.”

“Just try, Loki. We need every advantage we can get against Moridun.” Tommy walked back to his chair. He noticed how easily Riri and Amadeus were geeking out over everything.

Riri already made sure to get permission from K’kyy and Lan-Zarr to do an analysis of the ship. She chatted with Amadeus about the data she was getting as they were thinking on the utility of warp travel.

Tommy scratched his nose. “Is this your first time dealing with proper alien tech? Haven’t you interacted with the Guardians or Carol at all?”

“Not really.” Riri kept reading through the data. “I was basing everything off Starks’ second-hand data, but this the real deal.”

“It’s incredible!” Amadeus leaned against Riri’s seat as he reviewed the data for himself. “And to think there are even more advanced species out there. And that’s not including the crazy data we got from Nate’s armor.”

Nathaniel smiled as he relaxed comfortably on his chair. “Future tech is pretty awesome. By the time I was born, the Earth was well into collaborating with other alien species. It’s a pretty peaceful time to be alive compared to your present.”

Teddy sat back into his chair. “We’ll make sure you have a future to go back to, Nate. One where Moridun isn’t running wild and Billy is back to his normal self.”

Loki stared at a crystal as he slowly worked his magic to find Wanda. “Indeed,” he said, sadly.

Once more, Teddy noticed Loki was holding something back. Teddy was certain that Loki wasn’t up to anything evil, but he worried still as he felt that Loki was more afraid than anything else.

“Buckle up and get comfortable, everyone,” said K’kyy. “We’ll be entering warp speed in twenty seconds. I’ll notify you when it’s safe to wander about the cabin.”

Tommy chuckled. “Is this a space ship or an airplane?”

“A what?” asked Lan-Zarr.

“Nevermind.”

The engines roared as K’kyy warned them to brace themselves. The starship jerked back for a second before it was propelled forward at a rapid speed for their journey to the Andromeda Galaxy.

*~*

Time ticked agonizingly slow for the Young Avengers that remained on Earth. The sun was up and they felt too damn tired for another fight, but they had no choice but to brace themselves for the worst as Moridun would no doubt show up soon.

And just as they feared, a warp in space appeared with Moridun stepping out once again.

Moridun looked as horrid as he did before. However, he showed more signs of being very annoyed as he glared at the Young Avengers. “That trick is getting very old. I’m going to rip you apart limb from limb, Loki.” Moridun stopped for a moment as he looked around to notice something was different. “Some of you are missing. Huh...is this another trick? Are they going to jump out of nowhere and try to banish me again?”

Eli raised his shield. “Nah. Nothing that simple. But they are working on a plan to send your sorry ass back to Hell without Billy.”

Moridun raised his eyebrows. “Oh really? Well, I guess that means they left you all alone to distract little old me. Cute.”

Flares of dark energy flickered around Moridun’s hands. He manipulated the energy to his will to create a pair of swords that he swung around as he got adjusted to wielding such weapons. “Shall we dance?” asked Moridun. “Or would you rather just die now?”

Kamala gulped. “Those almost look like Hela’s Necroswords. The Avengers’ wiki said that Hela killed most of Asgard with those weapons.”

Cassie tugged on Kamala’s hair as she was still shrunk down. “Get it together, girl! We’re not going to let some demon god scare us.”

“Right!” said Kamala. “I’m not scared.”

America nodded as she clenched her fists. “Damn right, we’re not! We ain’t going to let some demon punk get the best of us.”

“Demon punk?” Moridun chuckled. “How insulting. You speak to me as though I’m a lesser lifeform. I am Nephilim, and now I hold Demiurge’s power. You should show me far greater respect!”

Noh-Varr pointed his pistols at Moridun and cocked the trigger. “I don’t think so. We’re going to kick your sorry ass. Isn’t that right, Pretty Bird?”

Kate huffed at Noh-Varr’s comment but kept on smiling. “Keep trying to charm me, Noh, and you’ll get into trouble with Tommy.”

“I got enough stamina for two.”

Eli cracked his knuckles. “Enough small talk! Young Avengers, assemble!”

Moridun was ready for the worst that they could throw at him. He freely swung his swords everywhere as he forced the Young Avengers to keep on the defensive. They were too busy trying not to get cut into pieces to take an offensive stance, which worked exactly how Moridun wanted.

Moridun spread his swords out with everyone jumping back before it was too late. He was about to cut them down when Cassie grew right behind him. She chopped him in the neck before shrinking to get out of his range.

With Moridun distracted, Kamala stretched her arms across the park to restrain his wrists. Moridun growled as he tried to pull himself free only for Eli to come swinging. Eli jumped over to punch Moridun in the face with black blood gushing from his nose as he also dropped his swords. 

Kamala released Moridun’s wrists and went to join Cassie as she grew back to full size.

Meanwhile, Kate ran up behind Moridun to trip him with her bow. She kept moving with Eli grabbing her hand just in time as Moridun levitated back to his feet.

As they kept Moridun busy, America focused on their exit strategy. She punched a star-shaped hole into reality then got busy. She flew over towards Noh-Varr as he quickly picked up on what she was thinking.

Cassie shrank and attack Moridun once again. Cassie grew back to full size and used the momentum to flip Moridun over her back to slam him to the ground. Cassie jumped up with Kamala stretching her arms and hands out to catch Cassie before Moridun could strike.

Moridun stumbled back to his feet. “I find you all so annoying! I can’t wait to kill you.”

“Too bad Billy’s still holding you back!” Eli tossed his shield at Moridun only for Moridun to repel it with a blast of magic. “As powerful as you are, it shouldn’t be this easy for us to fight you. We should be dead by now.”

“That can still be arranged,” growled Moridun.

“Or not.” Kate pointed behind him.

Moridun looked back just as America and Noh-Varr flew in to grab him. They squeezed onto his arms and flew as quickly as they could before Moridun could realize what they were up to.

America and Noh-Varr used all their strength to throw Moridun into the portal.

“Have a nice trip!” said Noh-Varr.

“See you next fall!” finished America.

“No!” howled Moridun as he was thrown into the star-shaped portal that quickly closed once he was inside.

They all took deep breaths as they managed to repel Moridun without too much trouble.

Noh-Varr ran his hands through his hair. “So, America, where did you send Moridun?”

“A dead universe, but don’t ask me to do that again.” America brushed some sweat from her forehead. “I can feel my powers starting to fade. Lucky for us, it’ll take Moridun a while to figure out his way out. That should give the others enough time to get back...and maybe give us a little time to rest too.”

Cassie walked over towards them with a smile on her face. “I suggest we sleep in shifts!”

Kamala nodded her head. “I vote to get to sleep first!”

“We’ll sort out a schedule.” Eli looked around the park to see how trashed it was from the fighting and the fact that people were starting to populate it. “America...can you portal us to the compound? We’re better off fighting there and trashing the place for the hundredth time than anywhere else.”

America chuckled as she stomped her foot to the ground to open a portal. “What about the other Avengers? Are they still there.”

“Clint said they went to the Sanctum with Strange,” said Kate. “They’ll take over for us if Moridun kills us.”

Noh-Varr stepped into the portal first. “Oh joy!”

They all followed his lead to get to safety and to possibly get some much-needed rest.

*~*

The starship exited warp travel as they approached a castle built on an asteroid. K’kyy slowly steered the ship onto the surface of the castle which bore an artificial atmosphere to protect the knights that lived in the castle and provided them with oxygen. 

They all stared at the monitors to the castle with most of the team marveling as this was the first time they ever saw anything like Castle Tarnala in the heart of space. The castle itself reminded them of a medieval fortress, but was partly torn apart and appeared ancient in its design. 

“Wow!” Tommy leaned away from the back of his seat. “It’s far more depressing than I expected.”

Lan-Zarr sighed. “It was once a lively home. However, so many hybrids have perished over the centuries that efforts to restore it are all but futile.” He started to smile though as he looked back to Teddy. “But you’re here now, Prince Dorrek. You are the hope for the hybrids and in bringing peace to our species.”

Teddy sank deeper into his seat. “No pressure though...not like I didn’t already have the survival of the Skrulls and finding us a new homeland resting on my shoulders.”

A smile graced Loki’s face. “That is the burden with kingship. You carry the weight of your people's hopes and fears, but you mustn’t allow it overwhelm you.” 

“Stating the obvious, are we?” Amadeus moved his arms behind his head. “I guess that makes sense considering you used to be King of Asgard before it got blown up.”

Riri smacked Amadeus’ chest. “Don’t be so rude. He’s Loki, but I’m sure even he has feelings.”

Nathaniel made a face as he waved a hand side to side. “Eh. He’s more heartless than you think.”

“I heard that,” Loki growled. 

Lan-Zarr chuckled as he enjoyed the insults hurled at Loki. He walked close to Teddy but couldn’t help but to eye Amadeus. “You, lad. You look a bit like a Skrull, but you’re not kin. And yet I sense great strength.”

“Oh! I’m a Hulk.” Amadeus flexed his massive biceps.

“A Hulk? We heard of those,” said Lan-Zarr. “That explains why I feel such power from you. I take it that you use this power to crush your enemies?”

Amadeus nodded. “Alongside my big brain. Truth is as much as I always wanted to be strong like a Hulk, it’s a bit of a curse. I feel all this rage and power, and it’s slowly chipping away at my sanity.” He sighed at the thought as he hadn’t really thought this much about his powers. “I wanted to be strong to protect my mom and younger sister. Years ago, my mom was almost killed by this artificial intelligence called Ultron that was seeking to create the perfect body. When she rebelled, it tried to kill her.”

Lan-Zarr hummed as he could understand such pain. “So you wanted this strength to protect your family, but now it threatens to consume you.”

“Then there won’t be much of Amadeus Cho left to protect them.”

Tommy patted Amadeus on the back. “I didn’t realize you had so much buried down there, bro. I guess that’s why you can act like a douche sometimes.”

“Sorry about.” Amadeus chuckled at himself as he realized his behavior was messy. “Yeah...you could say that’s my coping mechanism. Sarcasm and douchiness are how I keep my Hulk in check.”

"I can't judge," said Tommy. "I used to be the same way too. It wasn't until we started the Young Avengers did I change."

Amadeus smirked. "So you're saying there's hope for me?"

Meanwhile, Loki groaned as he stuffed the crystal he was using to track Wanda into his pocket. It did him no good as the universe was too vast of a place for him to find her without even having a general idea of her location. “Unfortunately, I can’t find Wanda. Without a better idea of where the Dard’van took her, it’ll be nearly impossible to track her. At least...unless I had proper reinforcements.”

“Like Billy and Strange?” asked Tommy.

Loki nodded. “At this point, any sorcerers of decent power will do.”

K’kyy brought the ship to a landing. “If sorcerers are what you need, there are two amongst the knights. I am certain that our leader, M’ryn and his daughter, Mur-G’nn, can be of use.”

“Two sorcerers?” Loki scratched his chin as he thought about it. “They could be what we need. But even if we do track Wanda down, she will have to be close to benefit William in the slightest. He won’t last much longer, and if we have to travel to another galaxy.”

“I get it.” Teddy got out of his seat as K’kyy gave them the all-clear to leave the ship.

K’kyy and Lan-Zarr led everyone from the starship and they entered Castle Tarnala so Teddy could face his destiny.

They exited the ship and approached the rocky surface. Castle Tarnala felt so empty and dead that it hardly seemed worth protecting the location. However, it also quickly became apparent why the hybrids chose to remain here as it was so remote and dead that no one would think a thriving people would live here.

As they entered the castle, they arrived at a decrypt foyer to discover two knights kneeling before them. Both were young women, who Lan-Zarr introduced as Mur-G’nn and Varra.

The women stood after properly greeting Teddy.

Mur-G’nn was careful as she approached Teddy. “My prince, it is an honor that you would finally join us. Please, allow us to escort you to our leader M’ryn.” 

Teddy nodded as he followed Mur-G’nn only for Loki to get in the way. Loki waved a hand over Mur-G’nn to get a better read of her power. Teddy groaned. “You done yet, Loki? I got a destiny to fulfill and a boyfriend to rescue.”

“No need to rush perfection.” Loki curtsied to Mur-G’nn. “Forgive me for how improper I was when we last met, my lady. But I am in need of your assistance.”

Mur-G’nn glared. “Oh? Why should I help you trickster?”

Tommy walked up to Mur-G’nn with his arms crossed. “Because if you want your future king then you’ll do as we ask.” The knights got on the defensive about things but Tommy ran out of patience a long time ago. “You want Teddy then you’re going to help us find my mom because she’s the only one who can save my brother who is your prince’s boyfriend! So get M’ryn now that way Loki can do whatever ritual he needs.”

“You heard the man.” Teddy started to cross his arms over his chest. “We need all the sorcerers we can get.”

“Of course, Prince Dorrek,” said Mur-G’nn. “We’ll do anything you request.” She started to walk again as she inquired to Loki about the nature of his spell.

They resumed their walk through the castle to reach the chamber where M’ryn waited.

*~*

Venturing deeper into Castle Tarnala, the knights led the Young Avengers into a lounge where an elderly man waited for them. 

M’ryn sighed as he grabbed his staff and slowly approached them. “At long last, you’ve arrived, Prince Dorrek. I am M’ryn the Magus. I wish I could say it was under better circumstances.” M’ryn extended a hand out to Teddy so they could properly greet each other. “I foresaw some of the trouble you face. While I am unsure of how much help I can provide, I promise to do all I can.”

“You have my thanks, M’ryn,” said Teddy. “So...how exactly am I supposed to fulfill my destiny? I doubt you want me to conquer the Kree Empire right now. The other knights mentioned something about a relic.”

M’ryn slowly nodded his head. “Yes, the relic. The mighty star-sword that you wielded in a past life. Dorrek Supreme fused his parents, Ryga’a and Soh-Larr’s, swords to create a harmonious blade that would help in his goal to unite our two species. It is time for you to claim the sword, Excelsior, for yourself.”

“Excelsior,” whispered Teddy.

“What about my mom?” Tommy walked over to M’ryn and Teddy but kept his eyes on M’ryn. “You said you foresaw our troubles, we’re going to need your power to find my mother so we can save my brother from the demon Moridun.”

M’ryn paused as he reflected upon Tommy’s words. “The creature I foresaw devouring everything, I suppose that is the demon you speak of. I understand why you’re acting so hasty, young man, but our priority must be Prince Dorrek claiming Excelsior. He must pass the trial. The sword will only allow its chosen to wield it and will destroy anyone it deems unworthy.”

Loki nodded as he held a hand up. Magic warped around his hand to uncover a nasty burn. “Yeah, I got this for trying to touch the sword,” he said.

“It was more than that,” said Nathaniel. “Loki got shocked and was thrown across the room.” 

Loki ignored Nathaniel and everyone else laughing at his misfortune. “Had I known it was a more temperamental version of Mjolnir then I would’ve stayed away.” 

Teddy smirked. “No, you wouldn’t have. You like a challenge, Loki.”

“I do...I really do.”

Riri turned to M’ryn. “What of the trial you spoke of? What exactly is the test that Teddy needs to pass?”

“One of worth.” M’ryn beckoned them to follow him. He pushed the lounge’s doors open to reveal the sacred shrine where Excelsior was left waiting for its chosen wielder.

The chamber was mostly dark except for the light that radiated from Excelsior and a few candles that were left lit. The sword was left on its podium. With there being more light then when Loki and Nathaniel first arrived, they saw three banners left on the walls. Teddy recognized two of the symbols as the ancient identifiers of the Kree and Skrull peoples, while the third was a mystery to him. It looked almost like a backward “h” but with more curves and a dot over the arch. 

Lan-Zarr noticed Teddy’s confusion. “That is the symbol Dorrek Supreme created to identify the hybrid race.”

“Neat,” said Teddy. “So all I gotta do is pull the sword.”

“Yes.” M’ryn taped the ground with his staff. “Excelsior will judge your worth. Then we’ll get to work on finding your witch...before it’s too late.”

Mur-G’nn squinted her eyes. “Before it’s too late? What do you mean, father?”

M’ryn sighed and closed his eyes. “I’ve delayed Prince Dorrek’s arrival for as long as I could. Years ago, I foresaw that when Prince Dorrek would claim Excelsior that it would bring destruction to us knights.”

“Destruction?” said Varra. “In what way?”

“I saw only death,” said M’ryn. “Prince Dorrek’s rise comes with our fall.”

Everyone fell silent in the chamber. The knights, especially, became silent as the news of their impending deaths now clouded their thoughts.

“Oh.” Teddy started to feel the weight of everything. He nervously got closer to Excelsior before his body started to tremble from the pressure. His mind was telling him to grab Excelsior as the relic was possibly their last chance to save Billy now, but his body fought him.

For years, Teddy carried the pressure of protecting the Skrulls and the resistance he faced from the Dard’van. And that didn’t include the terror he felt every day as a child in hiding from the Supreme Intelligence and the Kree. The love his mothers shared that gave him life brought him nothing but pain as he was forced to carry the burden of the Kree and Skrulls, while his own people wanted nothing more than to end his existence.

Then Teddy had to face the weight of being this Dorrek Supreme. He could feel the knights’ eyes on him as they had put all their hopes on him being their great savior on his shoulders. And now, now they learned that their devotion would be repaid with their deaths.

There was nothing more than Teddy wanted to do than to run back to Earth and bury himself in Billy’s arms, which he couldn’t even do because his boyfriend was possessed by a demon.

Teddy started to hyperventilate and his vision became blurry. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this!”

Tommy reached out to Teddy with his hand gently touching Teddy’s forearm. “Teddy? What’s wrong?” Before even Tommy’s speed could respond, Teddy shoved Tommy back and screamed how he couldn’t do this.

“I’m not worthy!” Teddy dropped to his hands and knees as tears started to run down his face as he took panicked breaths. “I’m not the guy you’re looking for. I can’t一”

“You can!”

Riri went over to Teddy and knelt down in front of him. She grabbed onto Teddy’s hands without him responding so violently to her as he did to Tommy. “I get you’re afraid. There’s a lot riding on you now,” said Riri. “You’ve been responsible for your people since you were a kid. And even with all your training, their demands keep getting bigger. And you just want to live your life like a normal person.”

Teddy was still taking panicked breaths, but he managed to hold the crying back as he nodded at every word Riri said. “I do...but I can’t.”

“Yes, you can!” Riri repeated. “You’re not the only one who carries so much on their shoulders and feels like you bring nothing but pain to those you love.” Riri took a deep breath. She started to scratch away at unpleasant memories. “When you recruited me for the team, I kept a lot of things off my file. Stuff I still feel guilty over.”

“My dad, my stepdad, and my best friend are dead because of me,” said Riri.

Teddy finally got his breathing in check as he looked to Riri. “What? How?”

Riri’s bottom lip quivered for a moment. “It’s not easy being a super genius. And people don’t take kindly to people challenging them. At M.I.T., there were... _contractors_ who tried to recruit me into developing weapons for them...I mouthed them off. I pissed them off pretty bad, bad enough that they wanted to teach me a lesson.”

“So they put a hit out on me and my family. There was a drive-by and...my stepdad got to me in time before the bullet could hit me. It hit him in the head instead, while my dad and friend, Natalie, also got caught in the shooting but they were killed before they realized what was going on.”

“Not long after that is when the Starks Foundation recruited me.” Riri brushed her tears away as she locked the memories away. “I’ve lived with the guilt of knowing the harm I did to my family. For not thinking about the consequences of my actions, I got them killed. Being Ironheart...it’s the only thing I can do that even remotely undoes what happened. And being in this team, it gives me the strength I need to move forward”

Riri placed her hands on Teddy’s face. “But things are different for you. Sure, you’re an alien prince with a wacky destiny, but you got the rest of us too. We will be there to catch you and help you when you fall.”

“Don’t be afraid, Teddy.” Riri started to chuckle as she remembered a talk she had with Teddy a couple of weeks ago. “You know that you can do this. Besides, you’re totally like Elsa in _Frozen 2_. Excelsior is your secret siren, and now you have follow it into the unknown.”

Teddy laughed too as he couldn’t believe Riri was using his, current, favorite movie against him. Thinking about the movie also made him think about Billy since watching the movie was the last real date that they had before Moridun took over. “You’re right. Thanks, Riri.” Teddy started to push himself up. “I have to go into the unknown.”

Riri nodded just as they heard Tommy groan. “I swear, Teddy, if you start singing, I will vaporize you,” said Tommy. “I don’t care if it screws over Billy. We are not having a _Frozen_ sing-a-long!”

“I won’t sing.” Teddy turned around and took a deep breath. He still allowed himself to be afraid and did nothing to ignore his stress, but he also reminded himself of the real reason he was even in Castle Tarnala. He was doing this to save Billy. And he would walk through hellfire if necessary.

Teddy went over to the podium and grabbed onto the handle. Teddy barely had to flex a muscle as Excelsior easily slid free from the podium with its radiant, blue light spreading out across the chamber. The ancient Kree and Skrull lettering glowed with a black light as Teddy felt power slowly coursing throughout his body.

Teddy turned back to everyone else with a grin spreading across his face. The knights immediately fell to their knees, while his teammates smiled back at him.

Nathaniel raised his gauntlet up as he did a quick scan of the energy radiating from Excelsior. “Wow! This is incredible. I haven’t picked up readings this incredible before that came from a weapon. Maybe it can save Billy.”

Loki nodded as he spun away. “It’ll save Billy...by killing him.”

“What!” Teddy nearly tossed Excelsior to the ground. 

A green blur moved in front of Loki as Tommy showed up right in front of him. “You said it would save Billy! And now you’re saying it’ll kill him?”

Loki shoved Tommy aside. He turned back to Teddy and shot a fireball from his hand.

Instinctively, Teddy used Excelsior to shield himself. The sword glowed brighter for a second with Loki’s fireball being pulled into the sword. Then the sword stopped glowing with the room getting darker.

Only when M’ryn lit more torches did everyone see the rage on each other’s faces. The knights were prepared to strike Loki, while Teddy only appeared even more confused.

Loki stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I wanted the sword because it can clearly absorb magic. I was hoping to use it before Moridun took control of Billy that way we could separate the two, but it’s too late now.”

Amadeus shook his head. “I’m not an expert in magic, but how can you say its too late?”

“Because Moridun’s clutches are too deep in Billy’s soul to separate the two!” Loki’s face started to turn red as he had tears running down his face. “Without Wanda...I don’t know any other way to save Billy except to give him a merciful death and save his soul.”

Teddy slowly walked over towards Loki. He struck Excelsior into the ground before placing his hands on Loki’s shoulders. “You didn’t call him William like you normally do. You must really care about Billy too.”

Loki stared at Teddy with his teary eyes. “Billy saved my soul by giving up his. The only other people who gave up so much for me was Thor and our mother, Frigga. I want nothing more than to prove myself worthy of Billy’s sacrifice...but I can’t save him. I’m a god, but I’m not strong enough!” Loki gasped when he felt Teddy pull him into a hug. Loki openly wept as he hugged Teddy back. “I’m sorry…”

Tommy came up behind Loki and patted him on the back. He had tears in his eyes now too as he didn’t think Loki cared so much about anyone, much less his brother. “It’s not fault, Loki. We should’ve realized something was wrong sooner. If we found out sooner then maybe we could’ve saved Billy.”

Riri leaned against Amadeus who went to wrap an arm around her as the two of them held back the urge to cry.

Nathaniel dropped to his knees and stared at the ground. “I guess there’s no point in trying to find Wanda now. Even if we did find her, there’s no guarantee we can save Billy. We really do have to kill him.”

“Why do you want to kill my son?”

The Young Avengers practically jumped out of their skin as they looked to find a woman standing at the chamber’s doors. She stood there with scarlet robes barely hanging onto her frame with her hair looking a complete mess. Her brown eyes looked partly dazed as though she escaped a horrific ordeal. And given what little they knew, it only made sense.

Tommy’s body started to vibrate on his own as he tried to crack a smile. “Mommy…”

*~*

Wanda Maximoff struggled to move any further so Tommy did all the work. Tommy ran to Wanda and quickly threw his arms around her, pulling into the tightest hug possible. Tommy didn’t even care as he sobbed loudly and uncontrollably. He was just too happy that he had his mom back.

Wanda appeared stunned at first but then realized a little more of what was going on. She hugged Tommy back as she whispered to him that he could stop crying.

It took awhile but Tommy finally stopped crying and pulled away. “But...how? You’re here!”

“I am.” Wanda brushed Tommy’s hair back and took a good look at him. She squinted her eyes as she noticed that his uniform was different. “You got a new look.”

Tommy smiled. “And a new codename. You can call me Quicksilver now.”

Wanda grinned as she understood where he got that from. “Quicksilver. Pietro would be very happy to share that name with you.”

Teddy and their teammates walked over to join the family reunion. Teddy left Excelsior behind as the knights stayed close as a precaution. “Wanda! I’m so glad we found you. Things are really bad. And we need your help.”

Wanda nodded. “Of course. I’ll do anything...where’s Billy?”

Teddy and Tommy turned to each other, while the rest of the team went silent. 

Loki finally broke the silence. “Well, Ms. Maximoff. Let me give you the crash course, but first I must ask...what’s the last thing you remember about Earth? Before you came to this castle.”

“What?” Wanda shook her head. “Um...I remember Strange sending me on a mission. I was helping a witch in Japan then...I don’t know. Things are really foggy. The next thing I knew I was here.”

“Here.” Tommy glared at the knights. “Why is my mother here? And why didn’t you tell us that you had her sooner!”

Lan-Zarr gulped as he could see the murderous intent in Tommy’s eyes. “We didn’t know she was your mother.”

M’ryn nodded. “And my visions were only glimpses, not clear gospel.” 

“As for how we found your mother,” continued Lan-Zarr, “about a month ago, there was a Dard’van ship that flew close to the castle. We ambushed them in fear that they uncovered our location, and when we defeated them that’s when we found Wanda in a pod and brought her here to recover.”

“A pod?” Riri nodded. “So when the Dard’van captured Wanda, they brought her to space so that no one would know about the switch!”

Wanda asked what Riri meant, along with who everyone was only for Loki to give a massive crash course. Loki explained why her memories were so foggy, where they were, and everything that’s happened to Billy since Mother and Moridun. 

Scarlet-colored energy started to flare around Wanda as her rage was rapidly building up. “Then we need to get Earth now! I will rip this demon from William with my bare hands if I must.”

Amadeus backed away. “Oh shit! The Scarlet Mom is terrifying.”

“The history books are right about her,” said Nathaniel. “They did say she could’ve killed Thanos by herself. I can see that’s true.”

“But that still leaves the bigger issue.” Riri pointed over to the knights. “The Dard’van. Do you know anything else about them? Like any major intel. We know they’re planning an invasion on Earth. And as far as we know, they were only successful in replacing the real Wanda with a fake. Aside from a few secret agents, we don’t know if they’ve done the same to anyone else or how to find out the truth about their operation.”

Varra nodded. “We have some of the ship’s records here. It might be of assistance to you. I’ll go and retrieve them for you”

“You have our thanks,” said Amadeus. “Anything to help us stop this invasion and fight the Dard’van.”

Mur-G’nn extended her hand out to Teddy. “The Dard’van are a threat to all of us. We will offer our services as well to help you defend your host planet and defeat the radicals.”

Teddy reclaimed Excelsior before he reached to shake Mur-G’nn’s hand. “Thank you. We’re gonna need it. But first, we need to save Billy.”

“To Earth then,” said Loki. “And we must hurry. I fear what Moridun’s done to our friends in our absence.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! Wanda is back and they might be able to save Billy! In the next chapter, we'll see if they can do it as they have their final confrontation with Moridun. See y'all next week!
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated.


	5. Heathens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy, y'all! We're approaching the grand finale of Young Avengers: The Long Road Home. I hope you've been enjoying everything so far! And the song choice is obviously "Heathens" by Twenty One Pilots. And just an FYI, I'm also planning a Kingdom Hearts fic. More details to come.

Chapter 5: Heathens

About two hours have passed since the Young Avengers repelled Moridun’s attack and banished him to a dead universe. They took advantage of that time to get some rest as they slept in two groups, with each getting one hour of sleep. 

America, Noh-Varr, and Kamala got the first round of sleep since they were the heaviest hitters at the moment. Once their shift ended, then it was Eli, Kate, and Cassie’s turn to get some sleep.

The compound was empty and silent. The exterior still trashed from Moridun’s earlier fight against the Avengers. Nobody bothered to fix anything since they were at the point where they expected the compound to get trashed yet again.

Noh-Varr brought a cup of water to America as she looked paler than usual. “Maybe you should try sleeping again,” Noh-Varr suggested.

America shook her head. “It won’t do me any good.” She took a sip of water before pulling her jacket sleeves up. The star mark on her left wrist faded away as she teleported them to the compound. Meanwhile, the mark on her right wrist was starting to fade too. “My powers are fading fast. It won’t be much longer till I’m completely useless.”

Kamala scooted closer to America on the couch. “What of the Utopian Parallel? If your powers are dying, then does that mean your home is gone too?”

“Gone or dying.” America chugged her water before placing the cup on the coffee table. “That means my moms’ sacrifice was pointless. Or...it never happened in the first place because they were never born on the Parallel in the first place.”

Noh-Varr sighed. “You can’t give up, America. There’s still time. We have to believe we can defeat Moridun and save Billy.”

“Yeah!” Kamala clenched her fists and smiled. “We have to keep the faith alive! It’s the only thing that’ll get us through this.”

America wanted to have faith, but it was fading along with her powers. Already, she only felt about half as strong as she usually did. And it was only going to get worse for her.

Seconds later, the clock went off to signal that another hour passed. It didn’t take much for Eli, Kate, and Cassie to get up as they weren’t that deep in sleep. 

Cassie yawned and rubbed her eyes. “That was better than nothing. At least I can function again.”

“Who knew fighting a demon in your best friend’s body would take that much out of you,” said Kate.

Eli rolled over to grab his shield. He was used to these quick rests and could shrug it off quickly enough. “Should we make our way outside? There’s not much of a point just waiting inside for Moridun to show up when he can crash the party at any time.”

“Should we, though?” asked Noh-Varr. “We could just wait inside where it’s cozy.”

“No, then we’ll get too comfortable.” America tried to get up, but her strength failed her. She lost balance with Kamala having to catch her before she face-planted to the table. She pushed herself away from Kamala after a second. “I’m fine! I can keep fighting.”

Kamala shook her head. “No! You should try to get more rest. You need it more than the rest of us.” Kamala would continue to try and convince America to sit back down only for a nasty ringing to assault their hearing.

Everyone cried out in pain as every glass object in the compound shattered. Only when everything shattered did the ringing stop.

“There is no rest for the wicked.”

They got up from the sofa to find something terrifying waiting for them. It wore Billy’s Wiccan uniform, but it significantly torn as it looked nothing like Billy or what they were used to seeing Moridun appear as. Deep down, they knew this terrifying creature was Moridun, but now they were confident they were getting a look at his real face.

Moridun no longer looked nothing like the human that he pretended as Billy. His head was beastly and bore five yes with an upside pentagram centered on what they assumed was his forehead. Also, from his face came numerous tentacles. His hands were beastly too as they resembled a bear’s paws but extra sharp, while his legs also bore innumerable tentacles.

Cassie gulped. “Did someone summon Cthulu?”

“Oh, good.” Dark energy built up around Moridun. “I was hoping for the humor. It’ll make killing you that much more fun.”

Eli raised his shield. “I don’t even have to say it, but let’s kick his ass.”

America raised her fists. “My pleasure!”

Moridun laughed. “Actually, the pleasure is all mine.” He flicked his beastly arm back with him ensnaring everyone in his magic. 

Before they knew it, they were all thrown outside of the compound. Moridun threw them to the ground with the wind getting knocked from them. 

Meanwhile, Moridun floated outside as he continued to laugh at them. “Now that you see my true face, nothing is holding me back anymore. William Maximoff is dead. And no one can save you!”

Kate struggled to reach out to grab her bow. She found enough strength to take it and tried to aim an arrow at Moridun but dropped her arm from exhaustion. “You forget...Moridun. We’re just the decoy.”

“I know. And I was just playing with you until I found the rest of your friends.” Moridun paused for a moment with the reversed pentagram glowing on its head. “Ah! And there they are. We should pay them a visit. That way, you can all die together!”

Moridun lifted them all into the air with a dark vortex opening above them as he dragged them across the universe.

*~*

In Castle Tarnala, Wanda was practically losing it as they filled her in on everything else she missed in the six months since she “died.” When in truth, it was that the Dard’van abducted her from Earth.

Wanda waved her hands over herself to conjure her uniform so that she would be better prepared for the impending combat.

Meanwhile, Riri and Amadeus returned with Varra as they retrieved all the data that they could from the Dard’van ship. Riri was reviewing all the details and created backups as a precaution. “My preliminary search isn’t telling me much,” said Riri, “but I can do a deeper scan with stronger computers back on Earth. I’ll get all the info I can from these data logs and see if it can help us derail this Skrull invasion.”

“Hopefully, this information does help you,” said Varra as they started to rejoin the others. “The few encounters we’ve had from Skrulls like the Dard’van never end well. The Skrulls are a proud people that will destroy anything in their path.”

“We noticed.” Amadeus stuffed his hands into his pockets. “We got all the details from the last Skrull invasion, and from what Teddy’s told us about your people, it makes sense why the Skrull and Kree were at war for so long. Onto more important things! I started doing the math on the quickest way we can get home, but I still need some info. Loki! Nate! What is your usual travel time?”

“Too long with this many passengers,” said Loki. 

Nathaniel checked his armor’s computer. “Um...I think it’ll be quicker to take the ship. I could make it work if the knights weren’t coming with us.”

K’kyy touched her gauntlet to run a quick diagnostic on the ship. “Everything is charged. If we leave now, then we can be back on Earth within two of your Earth hours.”

“Great!” Tommy pointed in the direction of the ship. “To the ship!”

“Or we can go take a faster route.” Wanda’s eyes glowed red as scarlet-pink energy built up around her as she waved her hands. She started to bend reality with a red vortex opening before them. “I can get us there faster.

Mur-G’nn brought her hand closer towards the vortex to sense its power. “What kind of magic is this? I can feel so much entropic energy from it.”

Loki chuckled as he stepped over to the portal. “Ladies and hybrids, what you’re looking at is Grade-A chaos magic!”

Wanda rolled her eyes at Loki’s attempt at humor. “Magic runs in my family, but I also have a natural connection to the chaotic energies of the universe that were awakened by an Infinity Stone. However, after coming into contact with all six stones, it’s caused my powers to develop beyond normal limits.”

“This power is dangerous,” said M’ryn. “If you are not careful, Ms. Maximoff, a dark fate will befall you like it did your other son.”

“I know. That’s why I fight so hard to keep my power in check.”

Teddy clung onto Excelsior as he approached the vortex. “Let’s get going to Earth. I have a boyfriend to save. Are we all ready?”

Lan-Zarr nodded. “Yes, Prince Dorrek. We are waiting for your command.”

“Then, let’s take the plunge.”

However, as they approached Wanda’s vortex, something unexpected happened.

Several bodies were thrown through the vortex. Shock hit everyone as they realized that the other Young Avengers were pushed through the vortex against their will.

“Noh!” screamed Tommy. “Kate!”

They rushed to their friends’ side with the knights rushing in front of Teddy to shield him.

Teddy knelt over to help Eli. “What happened?”

Eli’s eyes started to flutter open. “Moridun.”

A wave of darkness crashed into Castle Tarnala that instantly demolished part of the chamber. The structure itself slowly became unstable as things would only get worse from there as something else crossed through the vortex.

A sinister laugh echoed across the chamber with Moridun in his gruesome appearance, making himself known to everyone. The Earth team was starting to get back on their feet, while Teddy and the others stared at Moridun; they were horrified by what they saw.

Moridun glanced at everyone for a moment as he continued to laugh. “Well, all the pretty duckies are all lined up. I’ve certainly saved myself a great deal of trouble.”

Wanda was the only one who didn’t appear afraid. She already faced several demons before and lost so much that no demon could scare her. Instead, she felt only rage as she glared at Moridun with waves of scarlet energy gathering. “Nephilim! Cursed abomination!” howled Wanda. “Leave my son’s body!”

“Hahaha!” The tentacles around Moridun’s face appeared to laugh, too, as they wiggled weirdly. “You accuse me of being an abomination when you would pervert the laws of nature to birth your sons? Ah, witch! The arrogance you have is admirable but deserving of divine retribution.”

Dark energy flared around Moridun’s hand as he aimed Wanda. “Fortunately, for you, I owe you a debt of gratitude. I would not be here if it wasn’t for the taboo you committed. Had you never created a family through magic, then Demiurge would’ve returned, bound in a nice, human flesh. And I would’ve had to wait until the birth of the next multiverse before I could claw my way back to life.”

Moridun extended two tentacles out as he attempted to wrap them around Wanda so that he could drain her power too. “Allow me to show you my thanks!”

Wanda prepared to fight only for Teddy to get in her way.

“No!” Teddy swung Excelsior at the tentacles, which sliced them apart in a single blow. Moridun howled in agony as black blood poured from the wound. Teddy saw his chance to strike, so he took it before it was too late.

Teddy charged after Moridun and drove Excelsior to Moridun’s shoulder. However, Moridun was quick enough to avoid the attack. Moridun made a terrible mistake though. In an attempt to disarm Teddy, Moridun grabbed Excelsior by the blade. 

Moridun’s beastly hand was large enough to wrap itself around the blade without injury. But it was the direct contact that would be his undoing. He watched in terror as the sword started to glow with great intensity as it tore away at his power.

“What! What is this!” howled Moridun, while Teddy smirked at him.

Loki waved at Moridun while sticking his tongue out. “Excelsior! It’s a pretty cool sword. It can absorb and disrupt magic! And given how much it’s hurting you, not even you’re immune to its effects.”

Moridun continued to howl a beastly scream until his voice started to change. The nasty scream was replaced with something more human even as Moridun retained his appearance.

“Kill...me!” 

The voice reached through Moridun’s control with almost everyone recognizing it.

Teddy had tears in his eyes as he looked to see Moridun was trying to relinquish Excelsior, but something was also forcing him to stay there. “Billy? Is that you?”

Moridun’s dark eyes glared at Teddy for a moment before shifting to brown. “I can’t keep fighting him, Teddy. He’s winning.” Billy’s voice broke through Moridun. Billy sounded as though he were crying even though Moridun showed no emotion other than anger from the pain Excelsior caused him. “Please...kill me. Stop this evil bastard before he can destroy everyone. I know what he wants to do with my powers. He’ll kill everyone unless you stop me.”

“I can’t do that,” said Teddy. “I can’t kill you. Just hang in there. We can free your soul from Moridun. We have help.”

“No...it’s too late for me.” Moridun flinched as he moved his free hand forward. Teddy expected an attack. Instead, Billy managed to maintain control. Waves of blue light washed over everyone as he started to push them through Wanda’s vortex, turning the vortex blue in the process. “He’ll keep coming after you unless you kill him...kill us,” said Billy. “I’ll send you back to Earth. Regroup with everyone. And be ready to kill me!”

Teddy shook his head. “No! Billy!”

“Billy!” shouted Tommy as he fought against Billy’s magic as he was getting pushed to the vortex. “Don’t push us away! We can save you.”

“There’s nothing left to save...I’m sorry.”

Billy made Moridun released Excelsior as he pushed Teddy and everyone else through the vortex. However, before the vortex could seal itself and just as everyone almost crossed, Moridun regained control as Excelsior no longer was neutralizing his power. 

Moridun sealed the vortex, but not before almost everyone escaped. The only ones who didn’t get to cross to safety were M’ryn, Varra, and K’kyy as they were left alone with him in Castle Tarnala.

“They got away,” hissed Moridun. “No matter. I will catch them soon. Then they will all die! Everything in this universe will die!”

*~*

A blue vortex opened with it spitting everyone out from Castle Tarnala. They were all thrown carelessly to the ground and left to worry over Billy’s condition. And looking around, they realized that they were brought back to the Avenger’s Compound.

It wasn’t hard to comprehend that Moridun took over again. Excelsior broke Billy free from Moridun’s grip for a moment, but they weren’t sure if it could work as a permanent solution.

Teddy stared at Excelsior. This sword could be the game-changer that they were looking for, but he didn’t know how to use it properly. And given how desperate Billy’s pleas were, Teddy feared that they were too late. He might have to drive Excelsior through Billy’s heart in order to save him by killing him.

“What do we do now?” Cassie started to get back on her feet with Nathaniel’s help. “It was so easy for Moridun to toss us all around. He looked ready to kill us before he tracked your location.”

America stared at her wrists again. The other star-shaped mark was slowly starting to fade away. “Whatever we do, we have to do it now.” She showed her wrist to everyone else. “My powers are almost gone. No Billy means no Demiurge, which means the Utopian Parallel and I never exist.”

Loki nodded. “It may be too late for my old plan, but now that Wanda is here, we still might be able to salvage it.”

“How?” asked Wanda. “I’ll do whatever it takes to save my son.”

“A simple exorcism won’t do with a being as powerful as Moridun. We need to find a way to strengthen the connections to Billy’s soul and breakthrough to him.”

Tommy looked around to the team as everyone who had the strongest connection to Billy were all here. “Well, you got us all, Loki. Do whatever Asgardian magic you need to do.”

“Oh shit!” Amadeus was helping Lan-Zarr to his feet when he noticed something was horribly wrong. “What about the other knights?”

Lan-Zarr held his injured ribs as he leaned on Amadeus for support. Aside from him, the only other member of the Knights of the Infinite present was Mur-G’nn. 

Mur-G’nn noticed the absence of her father and comrades too. She held onto her side as she stumbled forward only to have Kate and Eli reach out to help her. “No! They got left behind with Moridun.”

Teddy’s eyes widened as he knew that the worst was likely happening to them. He clenched his grip on Excelsior as he turned to Loki and Wanda. “We have to go back! We have to rescue them.”

“There isn’t time!” stressed Loki. “Going back to the castle will make us lose whatever chance we have at saving Billy.”

“But一” Teddy started to speak when he heard Lan-Zarr groan.

“Save the boy.” Lan-Zarr pulled himself away from Amadeus. “The Knights of the Infinite took an oath to protect and serve you, Prince Dorrek. We understand you love this boy, and he means a great deal to everyone. Our comrades would gladly pay the price and offer their lives up to save him.”

Teddy bit his lips. “But...they shouldn’t have to die.”

Wanda reached out to touch Teddy’s shoulders. “Sometimes sacrifice is necessary. My brother gave up his life to protect Clint and a boy. And Vision...he gave up his life thinking it would save the universe from Thanos. Your knights, they are brave warriors. They are willing to do this for you, Teddy, because saving Billy means he can continue doing good.”

“This is our one chance, Teddy,” said Tommy. “And there’s no guarantee we’ll make it to the knights in time.”

Teddy nodded his head as he knew it was the truth. The painful truth. “Then let’s make their sacrifice count. What’s the plan to save Billy?”

“Keep Moridun distracted, for starters,” said Loki. “Wanda and I will try to connect with Billy’s soul. If we can give him enough support, then it might be enough to expel Moridun from his body.”

“Alright,” said Teddy, “then get, everyone. We got a Nephilim to slay.”

*~*

At Castle Tarnala, Moridun walked around the dying bodies of the remaining Knights of the Infinite. K’kyy and Varra were clinging to life, while M’ryn put up a far greater struggle. Their efforts to fight were far too pathetic, though. 

Moridun resumed his rampage as he silenced Billy’s resistance once more. The tentacles that wiggled along from his face and legs as he extended a beastly hand to grab onto Varra as she tried to stab him with a spear. “Why bother resisting?” Moridun wrapped a tentacle around her neck before snapping it. A pale light floated from Varra’s body with Moridun appearing to drink it. “Ah! Exquisite. I do so enjoy the souls of the courageous.”

“You, demon!” K’kyy grabbed her sword and tried to move only to fall back onto the ground.

A pillar fell across from them as the castle crumbled before their fighting. 

Moridun chuckled, and he raised a hand over to K’kyy. A dark light emerged from his hand as he began to drain the life from her body slowly. “Your pitiful insults do not bother me. Call me a demon. Call me a monster. I do not care.” Moridun walked closer to K’kyy to drain her life essence quicker while savoring the look of terror in her eyes. “For your life belongs to me now. And it is so delicious.”

K’kyy gave a final gasp before she too fell dead.

“No!” M’ryn slowly pushed himself back to his feet as he used his staff for support. He conjured a fireball and flung it after Moridun only for it to do nothing.

“Did you really think that would do anything?” The reversed pentagram on Moridun’s forehead glowed with a sinister light. “Your magic pales in comparison to the power I was born with and the power I stole from William Maximoff. Either one of us could easily defeat you, Magus, but together一” Moridun held a hand up as he began to drain M’ryn of his life essence. “I am unstoppable. I am infinite!”

M’ryn fought his fate as he gathered what was left of his magic and life. “You...are a...false god!” Pushing back, M’ryn repelled Moridun’s spell for a moment. “I knew this moment was coming. I will not allow you to end the Knights of the Infinite so easily! We are Dorrek Supreme’s guardians!” M’ryn struck the ground with his staff as his body started to glow with crimson energy. “As futile as my efforts are, I will teach you a lesson!”

Moridun tilted his head to the side with his many tentacles reaching out to latch onto M’ryn. He could sense the danger of M’ryn’s spell and wouldn’t allow any harm to befall himself. “You are incapable of doing anything to harm me!”

A tentacle wrapped around M’ryn neck while two more tried to plunge themselves in his eyes. However, that didn’t stop the crimson energy from building up around M’ryn. “To the abyss with you, demon!” The tentacles pierced M’ryn’s eyeballs and dug their way through his skull, killing him, but the spell was triggered in the process.

M’ryn’s death triggered a massive eruption from him and as the failsafes scattered across Castle Tarnala activated.

Within seconds, everything exploded. The asteroid that Castle Tarnala was built on became nothing but stardust.

*~*

“Is everyone ready?” asked Eli. 

Nearly everyone stood in a lineup as they braced themselves for Moridun’s eventual arrival. Eli stood on the front with Teddy and Tommy at his side. Noh-Varr and Lan-Zarr positioned themselves a bit further to the right to cover another spot. Nathaniel covered another zone with Amadeus, while Riri flew above them to keep an eye on an aerial attack. Kamala stood in front of Cassie and America near the ruins of the disastrous dinner where Moridun made his first appearance. America was positioned further behind since her powers were fading. Meanwhile, Kate and Mur-G’nn stood on an awning to strike from above.

Behind everyone was Loki and Wanda as they channeled all the energy that they could muster. They weren’t so focused on conducting their ritual, but instead wanting to make sure they would have all the power they could to contain Moridun.

Teddy squeezed onto Excelsior’s handle and took a deep breath. “We’re ready.”

Darkness arose from the ground while the sky slowly became covered in dark clouds with lightning cracking. The wind started to pick up in strength as a dark portal opened in the middle of the field. Tentacles slithered from the portal first before Moridun stepped out entirely as an eerie laugh echoed across the compound. Small scrapes formed on his body as what little remained of Billy’s uniform was gone and instead replaced with a dark cloak that only covered part of Moridun’s massive body.

Freed from the constraints of Billy’s body, Moridun appeared taller too as he looked as tall as a Hulkbuster. Orbs of dark-blue light formed in Moridun’s hands. “Ah, my friends. You are all here to greet my return,” said Moridun. “How kind of you, but we’re missing a few people.”

Lan-Zarr tossed his arm back. A hilt floated from his belt with the tip constructing a silver sword that he raised to Moridun. “Our comrades! What have you done with them?”

“Devoured their souls.” Moridun belched. “They were mighty tasty too. However, the Magus escaped my wrath, but he died soon enough and tried to take me with him only to fail.”

Tears started to trickle down Mur-G’nn’s face. “Father...I’ll avenge you!” She brought her hands together as she invoked old magics. She conjured a fireball that she threw at Moridun, making him notice hers and Kate’s location.

The tentacles on Moridun’s face started to spread apart to reveal a beastly jaw that inhaled the incoming fireball. Moridun swallowed Mur-G’nn’s attack and laughed. “Your power is impressive, but not enough to sustain me for long. Still, devouring your soul would be almost as exquisite as taking the Magus.”

“No!” Lan-Zarr broke formation as he charged after Moridun with his sword. “You will die here, demon!”

Moridun flicked his wrist to throw Lan-Zarr aside. 

“Blast him!” Riri swooped in low to fire a repulsor blast at Moridun as he was momentarily distracted. 

Nathaniel, Mur-G’nn, Noh-Varr, and Kate followed Riri’s example. They fired everything they could to slow Moridun down. Repulsor blasts, magic, laser blasts, and arrow rained upon Moridun as he was forced to erect a barrier around himself.

America took the plunge with what little power she had left as she stomped her foot to the ground. She opened a portal and gave Eli the signal. Eli tossed his shield into the portal with another opening within Moridun’s barrier. The shield struck Moridun in the back, causing him to lose focus.

“Time for the big guns!” Amadeus jumped at Moridun and threw a strong punch across Moridun’s face. 

Moridun chuckled as he grabbed onto Amadeus and tossed him as easily as he did Lan-Zarr. But Moridun was still in for a fight as Tommy led the charge with Kamala and Cassie not too far behind. Tommy bombarded Moridun with a series of punches before Kamala swatted Moridun with a massive hand, while Cassie went in to kick his head. 

“Enough!” Raw energy erupted from Moridun as he repelled the trio. He fired a blast of lightning to the sky and managed to strike Riri, causing her to come crashing down.

Nathaniel flew after Riri to catch her, but Moridun’s lightning attack shorted his armor out too. They both fell hard as there wasn’t much else they could do to save themselves.

A blast of dark energy rocketed from Moridun’s hand to demolish the awning that Mur-G’nn and Kate were on. They were lucky to jump off before they were killed too, but the resulting explosion knocked them out.

America threw caution to the wind as she flew at Moridun only for him to grab her with a tentacle. Noh-Varr charged in to blast Moridun with his pistols only for Moridun to latch onto him too. Moridun flung both of them towards Eli as he tried to reclaim his shield.

Moridun turned his gaze onto Teddy as he stood guard over Loki and Wanda. It didn’t take an expert to understand why Loki and Wanda were gathering all the magic that they could. “What tricks do you have up your sleeve now? You really think a spell will save your beloved, Prince Dorrek? Didn’t you listen to his desperate pleas? Your only hope is to kill me, thus killing him too, if you truly wish to save everyone.” 

Teddy glared at Moridun while raising Excelsior to his face. “I know what Billy said. And I know what you think, but I know in my heart that Billy can still be saved.”

“What a fool,” said Moridun. “You will cause the deaths of everyone before you have the guts to do what is necessary.” Moridun raised his hand to blast Teddy with dark energy.

Teddy planted his feet to the ground and held Excelsior forward. Excelsior absorbed everything that Moridun threw at him, but that didn’t mean Teddy was winning. His muscles ached as Moridun’s power still burned him and was draining every ounce of strength from him. However, he wouldn’t give up. He would do everything in his power to save Billy.

Moridun squinted his five eyes with the pentagram glowing brighter. “You dare resist me? I could offer you a swift death, and yet you choose to oppose me! You are only making things harder on yourself.”

“Maybe!” Teddy tried to push himself forward to repel Moridun’s attack but found himself unable to move his feet much or else risk losing completely. “But I can’t surrender. I can’t give up. I’m going to save Billy and send your nether ass back to Hell!”

“Not alone, you won’t.”

Moridun ceased his attack as they all looked up.

Orange sparks appeared with the Avengers made their return. 

Thor and Jane blasted Moridun with their lightning, while Monica fired a photon blast. Moridun quickly constructed a barrier around himself before their attacks could connect. Bruce and Jen kept close as they were itching for a fight too.

Meanwhile, the others worked on recovery. Sam, Bucky, Peter, and Rhodey tended to the injured Young Avengers and knights while working on getting them to safety as things were only going to get worse.

Strange floated towards Teddy and Loki, with his eyes going wide when he saw Wanda. He carried in his hand a golden sword that radiated with a holy aura similar to that of Excelsior. “Wanda! I thought you were一” 

“Dead?” Wanda smirked. “It’s a long story. We’ll talk about it later. What’s with the sword?”

Strange moved the sword over his shoulder. “This old thing? It’s something that was in storage in the Hong Kong Sanctum. Didn’t even know it existed until we started researching Nephilim in the records.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “I sense power. Will it be of use to us?”

“Of course.” Strange turned back to see Moridun’s barrier fall. Bruce and Jen acted quickly as they tried to pummel Moridun only for him to blast them back with dark energy. “This is the sword of King David. The same sword he used as a boy to kill Goliath, a descendant of Nephilim.”

“Sounds pretty useful then,” said Teddy.

Strange stared at Excelsior. “That sword...I’m sensing a strange power from it too. Where did you get it?”

“My ancestor, Dorrek Supreme. It can also absorb and negate magic.” 

“Impressive.” They heard screaming as Moridun was dodging and blocking everything that the Avengers, Young Avengers, and knights threw at him, but it was clear that they were still losing to Moridun. Strange bit his lip. “We don’t have much time. Whatever you’re planning, do it now!”

Strange rushed towards Moridun and swung David’s sword at him. Moridun sensed the divine energy and immediately responded by firing lightning in Strange’s direction. Thor and Jane jumped in to absorb the lightning into their hammers so Strange could get closer.

Strange swung the sword at Moridun. While Strange missed the mark, the proximity of the sword was enough to force Moridun to take the defensive.

A green blur appeared near Teddy, Loki, and Wanda. Tommy was gasping for air as he stared at them. “Come on! Establish the connection to Billy.”

“It’s not that easy,” said Wanda. “Even with all our power, we still need more help.”

Loki smirked as he grabbed Tommy’s hand and instructed Wanda to take his hand too. Wanda and Tommy appeared confused. “Oh, come now!” said Loki. “Wanda, you bore your sons through magic. You're not so foolish to believe that Tommy didn’t inherit any magical power?”

Tommy shook his head. “I can’t use magic, though.”

“But the magic is still in you,” said Loki, “and being Billy’s twin, that gives you a deeper connection to his powers!” It started to dawn on Loki what else they could do. With Teddy still there and with Excelsior. “Teddy, let us borrow your sword.”

Teddy had no problem handing it over to Loki. Luckily, the sword didn’t shock Loki this time as it was willing to work with him too for the occasion. Loki had Wanda hold onto the sword also so that they could pull power from it. “What can I do? There has to be something I can do to help Billy besides punch Moridun.”

Wanda turned to Loki as she could picture something. “You said we need connections to reach Billy’s soul. What if we send Teddy’s soul to reach his?”

“That might work.” Loki turned to Teddy. “It will hurt, though. Removing your soul from your body is a painful process. And your astral self can sustain injuries just like your body.”

Teddy nodded. “I don’t care how bad it hurts. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Good! Because we’re out of time.”

Behind them, Moridun was crushing everyone else. Strange was only standing because of the sword, while everyone else was either knocked unconscious or struggling to move. If they were to save Billy, then now was the time for action.

Loki, Wanda, and Tommy tightened their grip on each other and Excelsior with rays of golden light rushing around them. The light started to affect Teddy as he felt a sharp pain everywhere as his soul was being pulled from his body. Teddy stomached the pain though. It was too important for him to remain strong if he was going to help Billy.

The golden light pushed Teddy’s soul out, with his body falling to the ground. Teddy could see his astral self. The magic soon pushed Teddy towards Moridun, but Moridun was unaware of what was going on as Teddy’s soul crossed the threshold.

*~*

A vacuum of space greeted Teddy as his soul reached into Billy’s soul.

Twinkling starlight was slowly dying as a sinister shadow floated in the darkness. Teddy could only assume this was Moridun’s soul, which meant neither he nor Billy was safe.

Teddy floated through the massive expanse to find any trace of Billy. His search became more frantic until he finally found himself compelled to scream Billy’s name.”

It was then that a tiny asteroid appeared in space. There sat a small figure that was rocking itself back and forth. Only when Teddy got closer did he realize it was Billy.

Billy mumbled to himself about being alone and afraid. “I’m done. I’m dead. I can’t fight. I’m nothing.”

“Billy, stop saying that!” Teddy tried to float over to Billy, but a dark barrier covered the asteroid. It shocked him every time he tried to penetrate it, which kept him from getting any closer. “Damn it! Billy, let me help you!”

“He can’t hear you, Prince Dorrek.”

The shadow that floated in space started to take form as Teddy could see Moridun’s face clearly now. “This nest I created is William’s prison. He has accepted his fate. His tiny spirit is accepting the merciful death I am granting him.”

Teddy shook his head. “Bastard! I won’t allow you to take him from me.” Teddy didn’t care as he threw himself at the barrier again. He tackled the barrier first with it shocking him before kicking and punching it. He didn’t care if he got shocked a million times; he would keep fighting. “Billy, it’s me! Listen to my voice! We’re all fighting to save you! We’re doing all we can, but we need you to fight back!”

“Fight,” whispered Billy as he still didn’t notice Teddy’s presence. He looked up with his eyes showing nothing as though he became blind in this dark space. “There’s nothing to fight. I’m dead.”

“Yes!” Moridun laughed. “You are dead, William. There is no one who can help you. All that you have left is your poisoned thoughts. Surrender, and I shall grant you a merciful end.”

Billy started to nod when Teddy slammed his fist on the barrier again.

The electricity ate at Teddy’s soul as he knew he was running out of chances. He needed to get Billy to really hear him. “Billy...I love you too much to let you give up. I want nothing more than to be by your side forever.” Teddy’s vision started to get blurry from all the electricity surging through his soul self, which was slowly ripping him apart. “We all do. Our friends, the Avengers, Loki, Tommy, and your mom are fighting for you.” Billy tilted his head from the mere mention of Wanda. 

While Teddy could tell that Billy didn’t really see him, he knew he had found his way in. Teddy punched the barrier again, but this time, his hand was piercing the darkness. Still, the darkness shocked Teddy with its electrical currents eating at his soul, but Teddy kept fighting to get his hand closer to Billy. “My love for you is what helped me find you, but it was your connection to everyone else that allowed me to crossover. Loki, Tommy, and Wanda are using all their power to keep me here. Just take my hand, and we can save you!”

“Save me…” Billy closed his eyes. “Save...me.”

“There will be nothing to save!” Moridun’s soul lashed out against Teddy. 

Coils of darkness emerged from the space to wrap themselves around Teddy in an attempt to pull him away from the barrier. Moridun growled at Teddy’s resistance. “Defiance! That will die first. Then I will rip your soul apart, Dorrek!”

Teddy cried in pain as he kept himself against the barrier, so Moridun couldn’t split them apart while making one last plea to Billy. “Please...Billy! Help me!”

Tears trickled down Billy’s face as he could truly hear Teddy now. The haze in his vision parted with him standing on his feet now. “Teddy!” Billy jumped from the asteroid as Moridun succeeded in pulling Teddy away. However, a bright-blue light washed over Billy, which allowed him to break the barrier.

Billy floated into space and wrapped himself around Teddy to destroy the dark coils that Moridun ensnared him. Billy held onto a barely breathing Teddy as his soul was in a delicate place now from all the damage Moridun inflicted upon him.

“No, Teddy!” Billy cradled Teddy in his arms. “You’ll be okay. I’ll get us out of here.”

Teddy slowly nodded his head as he reached to touch Billy’s cheek. “I...got through...to...you. Wanda...she’ll be happy...to see...you.”

Billy choked on his tears. “My mom? But she’s dead.”

Teddy shook his head. “She’s...alive. Long story.” Billy gasped as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but knew Teddy would never lie to him about something as important as his mom being alive again.

From the darkness, tentacles gathered around Billy and Teddy. “You will not escape me, William!” said Moridun. “Your defiance will be punished. You will know true horror!”

The tentacles were about to swallow them when Billy shouted in rage. The blue light around him grew even brighter as it destroyed the tentacles with Moridun howling in pain.

Billy held onto Teddy as he glared at Moridun’s soul self. “You! You did this!” The dark space around them started to shift slowly. Billy could see everything now and began to retake control. Billy gently laid Teddy onto a patch of grass that suddenly emerged into the dark space.

Billy walked over to Moridun with his power flaring in the dark space with Moridun’s soul being dragged down to Billy’s level as he appeared here as he did on the outside. “You hurt my friends! You hurt my family! You hurt my Teddy!” Billy clenched his fists. “You fed on every negative emotion I had! My fears! My anxiety! My depression! You made me think it was my fault that my mother died!”

“It was!” The confidence in Moridun’s voice turned into a terrified shriek.

Billy shook his head. “No! We’re done here, Moridun. In fact, let me open the door for you!” Billy swung his arms forward. A golden light appeared behind Moridun in the shape of a doorframe.

Moridun shrieked as Billy expelled Moridun out of his soul. 

With Moridun gone, Billy turned over to Teddy as he was slowly starting to fade. Teddy’s soul departed back to his own body, where he could properly recover. Billy smiled, but he knew it wasn’t over yet.

Billy looked outward to see Moridun still fighting his friends and family. And it was there that Billy could see that Wanda was there with Loki and Tommy. It brought so much joy to Billy’s soul as he covered his heart with his hands.

“I will end this,” said Billy. “I am strong. I can face my fears, my darkness. I am the light!”

Golden light washed over Billy’s soul as he was ready to fix everything.

*~*

Strange stabbed Moridun’s shoulder with David’s sword.

Moridun growled as he was harmed on both sides. His physical form was injured while his soul was damaged too. He pulled himself away from Strange as he fell to the ground with his foes gathering close.

“No!” Moridun threw a blast of dark energy to the ground to push everyone back. “This is not how it will end! I’ve fought too hard to live.” Moridun covered his chest as he dropped to his knees. Intense pain riddled his body and was slowly driving him insane. “No! No! No! I will not die here.”

A golden light trickled out from Moridun’s body and floated across the compound, invisible to everyone.

The light reached Teddy’s unconscious body. Teddy’s soul returned to his body and brought him back to life. Teddy gasped for air, and in doing so, he broke the spell that Loki, Wanda, and Tommy cast. They dropped to the ground with Excelsior falling too. 

Tommy had tears in his eyes as he looked over to Teddy and still saw Moridun present. “Billy? Did...did it work?”

“It should’ve.” Teddy reached for Excelsior as he turned to Moridun, witnessing how much pain he was in. Teddy tried to stand, but he didn’t have the strength to do a thing, given how much damage his soul sustained. “I...made it to Billy. I saved him. Where is he!”

Loki stared at Moridun as something was terribly different. “I don’t even sense Billy in there anymore. But if you saved Billy, then he should be here.”

Wanda frowned. “Did we fail Billy?”

Space started to bend in front of them. 

Even Moridun felt the disturbance as he looked towards them. 

A warp, in reality, appeared with a figure emerging from nothing. Billy stepped onto the compound’s ground and appeared fully nude, but that was only true for a second. Blue light washed over Billy as he gave himself a new appearance. 

Billy dressed in a bodysuit with black, starry pants and a top that was red with swirling lines on the sides and black on the chest with stars scattered on it too. A glistening, semi-tattered, red cape flowed behind him with a red headdress shaped like an “M” covered his forehead. He wore a pair of red hightops too that bore a six-pointed star on both sides of his ankles. Even his hair was a little different now. His bangs grew out and swopped towards his eyes, while his sides were shaved short.

Billy flicked his wrists with the blue light surrounding him becoming scarlet. He ignored everyone around him as he had eyes set only for Moridun. “I told you that we were done here, Moridun,” Billy said, coldly, as he watched Moridun back away. “Just like your mother, you wanted Demiurge’s power, and now you cower before me. Is this not what you wanted? Of course not. You’re just a cheap little bully who likes breaking toys. You are nothing but a coward!”

“I am no coward!” Moridun growled as he pushed himself to his feet. “I am Moridun, son of Sammael and Lilith. Destined ruler of一”

Billy’s eyes glowed red. “MoridunBeSilent!” A wave of magic rippled from Billy’s body as he compelled Moridun’s silence. Moridun stared in terror as Billy was in complete control of everything. This brought a smirk to Billy’s face as he stood in front of Moridun now. 

Billy flicked his left wrist towards Strange, making David’s sword appear to his hand. “Poor, sad, Moridun. How the mighty have fallen.” Billy brought the sword to Moridun’s face. “You violated my body, forcing me to create a new one! You hurt everyone that I loved while wearing my face! And you even killed others with my power! For that, there is nothing about you worth forgiving or showing the slightest bit of mercy to. Therefore, I cast you out, Moridun.”

Moridun tried to scream, but Billy’s spell kept him completely silent.

“NoMoreMoridun. NoMoreMoridun! NOMOREMORIDUN!” Power arose all around Billy as waves of scarlet light surrounded both him and Moridun. He raised the sword with the scarlet energy started to swallow the sword, too, as it continued to radiate its divine light. “I am William Maximoff! I am Wiccan! I am the Demiurge! And you, Moridun, are no more!”

Billy plunged the sword through Moridun’s chest. The sword scarred Moridun’s body, but it wasn’t enough. 

Billy left the sword in Moridun’s chest as he started to float into the air with the scarlet light erupting from his body to dispel the darkness that Moridun created. Billy then brought his hand forward to blast Moridun with scarlet energy. Moridun howled in intense pain as his body quickly began to crumble apart until nothing even the tiniest atom was left of him. David’s sword fell to the ground with its divine light starting to fade away as the Moridun threat finally came to an end.

Everyone watched in awe and fear as Billy floated back to the ground. Billy smiled at everyone as he flicked his wrist to heal them and reverse all the damage that Moridun did to the compound.

“Billy,” whispered everyone as they stared at him with wide eyes.

“Billy!” Teddy stumbled towards Billy as he left Excelsior behind. Billy quickly went over to Teddy as the two hugged one another. Teddy had tears pouring down his face as he held onto Billy’s waist. “I thought一”

Teddy wasn’t given a second to speak. Billy brought their lips together as he wrapped his arms around Teddy’s shoulders, giving him the kiss of a lifetime. Billy sniffled when he finally pulled back a little. “Thank you, Teddy,” whispered Billy, “for never giving up on me and lighting my way back.”

“Always,” Teddy stared into Billy’s eyes. “I’ll always be there to catch you.”

“And I’ll catch you too, whenever you need me.” Billy leaned up to kiss Teddy once more before he heard his name being screamed. 

Billy slipped free from Teddy’s arms to find Tommy and Wanda coming towards him. Billy started to weep as soon as he saw Wanda. The guilt that ate away at him for months, the guilt that Moridun exploited, disappeared, and was replaced with pure joy. Billy ran towards them too, and embraced his family while they all cried together.

“Mom!” Billy rested his face against her shoulder while squeezing onto Tommy’s arm. “You really are alive!”

“I was never really gone.” Wanda rubbed Billy’s back. “Just missing.”

Tommy chuckled as he kissed the side of Billy’s head. “It’s a long story. We’ll fill you in later.”

Billy smiled. “Good. I want to hear everything.”

“We got plenty of time now,” whispered Wanda. “Plenty of time.”

Teddy smiled as he watched Billy embrace his family. His attention only broke focus when Loki joined him and handed Excelsior back to him. “Good job, Loki,” said Teddy. “We couldn’t have done this without you, hero.”

Loki rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Don’t mock me, Prince Charming.”

“He’s not.” Thor joined them with the rest of the Avengers and knights. “This was your doing, Loki. William lives, and the universe is safe because of you.”

Nathaniel deactivated his armor and pointed to his bracelet. “You did it, Loki. I told you that you were the only person who could save everyone.”

Loki smirked. “Well, in that case, you should throw a parade in my honor.”

A swift punch struck Loki’s arm. Loki groaned as he glared over at America. “No parades for you, Loki.” America showed off her wrists as her star markings were back and as visible as ever. “But...we can get you a cake.”

“It better be a big cake,” mumbled Loki.

Teddy patted Loki’s back. “It’ll be the biggest one we can find.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwww, I just love happy endings. I hope you noticed some of the New Avengers quotes. Also, if you want to get a better look at Billy's uniform then look up Luciano Vecchio's illustration of Scarlet Wiccan.
> 
> And get ready for next week when the final chapter drops! Eeeep!
> 
> Kudos and comments always appreciated.


	6. We are the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I'm sad to say this arc is over, but we get to move onto bigger and crazier stories.
> 
> Also, just an FYI, I should be posting my Kingdom Hearts fic in the next week or two. It's an original story that takes place a hundred years after a hypothetical KH4 so it'll follow a completely original cast and the potential fallout between Sora and friends battling against the Master of Masters and his apprentices. Keep an eye out for it.
> 
> More details about the final YA story arc are at the bottom! As for the song choice, it is "We are the Night" by Steve Grand. And as always, kudos and comments are appreciated.

Chapter 6: We are the Night

Rays of magic washed over Billy while he levitated over a table. He was back to wearing regular clothes again as he changed out of the uniform that he created when he made his grand return.

At the Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange and Wanda both finished their examination as they wanted to be absolutely certain this time that there was no leftover demonic residue in Billy.

After Moridun’s death, nearly the Avengers and Young Avengers went their separate ways. As much as Teddy wanted to stick around with Billy, Strange and Wanda whisked Billy away to be certain Moridun was gone. Only Tommy got to leave with them, while the rest of their team retreated to their base to decompress over everything that happened.

“Well?” Tommy pushed himself away from a wall. “What’s the verdict? Do we have to send Teddy into Billy’s soul again?”

Scarlet lights flicked from Wanda’s wrist. “I don’t sense anything demonic. In fact...I can’t sense chaos magic either.”

Strange nodded as the orange sparks faded from his hands. “I noticed that too. William’s powers are tied to chaos magic too, but the markings of chaos are no longer apparent.” He waved his hands to gently bring Billy down to the table. “What did you do, William? You mentioned during the fight that you had to rebuild your body.”

Billy pushed himself from the table. “Yeah, the damage Moridun did to my body was just too severe. Had I exorcised him from myself, then I would’ve died too.” He started to wave his hands as he tried to think of how best to explain what happened. “So I made this body. One free from Moridun’s taint, but to create it, I kinda had to go Demiurge. Well, not really Demiurge. How did Loki put it?”

“Semiurge?” said Tommy.

“That!” Billy smirked. “I went Semiurge, and I guess unlocking more of my Demiurge potential affected the roots of my powers too.”

Strange shook his head. “No...it’s different in your case. Sorcerers like myself pull power from different dimensions and higher beings, while witches like your mother harness the natural energies of our reality. Granted, she also has access to chaos energies. While gods like Loki can access either mean at once.”

“But what you do is different, Billy.” Wanda noticed it, too, as Billy’s magic functioned on a different level. “You are your own battery. It must have something to do with you being Demiurge. Not that I fully understand what that means. I’ve been gone for months.”

“Yeah, we’ll need to talk on that,” said Strange. “But, she’s right, about you, William. Your power as Demiurge means something completely different. Wong and I will work on seeing what we can uncover anything on the meaning of Demiurge. Maybe previous Sorcerer Supremes left some records that could be of use in guiding you to your destined role.”

“Cool,” said Billy, “so since I’m demon-free, does that mean we can go now?”

Strange smirked. “Yes, you can leave.”

“Great!” Tommy tossed Billy’s sweater at him. “I’m exhausted and ready for bed!”

“Agreed.” Wanda grabbed onto Billy and Tommy’s hand. “Thank you for the help, Stephen. I’ll give you a call if there’s anything else we need.”

Strange nodded. “Good. Have a goodnight. And Wanda. William. It’s good to have you both back.”

They smiled as they started to make their way out of the Sanctum Sanctorum, dressed in their winter clothes. Only after they left the house did they feel safe enough to speak more openly.

Wanda locked her arms with Billy and Tommy as they heard the sound of crunching snow and salt beneath their boots. A scarlet portal opened up with them stepping inside and being immediately brought back to their home on the Upper East Side. “Wow,” said Wanda. “I’m impressed you kept the place so clean. Now, care to explain everything I’ve missed? Like apparently, I was abducted by the Skrulls?”

“The Dard’van,” said Tommy. “Those are the same Radicals that have been trying to kill Teddy. And apparently, Talos and Soren’s daughter, Veranke, is their leader.”

Billy cringed. “Wow! I missed a lot when Baby Satan possessed me. So the mom we watched die was a Skrull agent who thought she was mom?”

Tommy nodded. “It’s really complicated. And now, apparently, there’s a Skrull invasion on the horizon as we don’t know who else might be a Dard’van in disguise.”

“Well, I doubt they’d try capturing me again,” said Wanda. “Now that you know about what happened, you would be suspicious of me if I started acting differently.”

“Good point.” Billy yawned. His eyes getting heavy, too, as it was getting late, not including the exhaustion he felt from adjusting to his new body and using so much magic. “While we’re on the subject, mom, is it okay if I try to probe your mind?”

Wanda raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“For info on the Dard’van,” said Billy. “They did kidnap you and held you, prisoner, for like six months. Whatever points you weren’t unconscious, you might have seen or heard something that could be helpful.”

Tommy shrugged. “That could prove to be helpful. At least until Riri can decipher the data, they got from the Dard’van ship.”

“We can give it a try,” said Wanda, “but try not to melt my brain, Billy.”

“I won’t!”

Wanda and Billy went to the couch so that they could at least be comfortable. 

Billy took a deep breath as he placed his hands around Wanda’s head. Sparks of scarlet light arose from his hands while he tried to find anything relevant in Wanda’s mind. His eyes started to glow red from power.

Tommy watched them both with a painful feeling in his gut. He worried that Billy might accidentally blow their mom’s head up, which was the last thing any of them wanted, especially after just getting her back.

A moment passed with Billy releasing the magic. He shook his head and scooted away. “I couldn’t find anything. The Dard’van was smart enough to block anything that might have learned while their prisoner. But...I did sense a gap. I didn’t want to pick at it too hard, though, since I can’t be certain what might’ve happened to you.”

Wanda rubbed her head as it did feel a little swore from Billy’s mystical mind-reading. “I appreciate that. And I’m sorry that my memories couldn’t be more of help.”

“Oh, well.” Tommy went over to the couch and wrapped his arms around Wanda’s shoulders. “So what if we don’t know what the Dard’van did to you. All that matters is that we got you back.”

“Yeah!” Billy rolled over and rested his head on Wanda’s lap. “We’re all together again. One big happy family.”

Wanda smiled as she ran her fingers through Billy’s hair while leaning her head against Tommy’s arms. “It’s good to be home.”

*~*

The next day, the Young Avengers gathered at their headquarters with Nathaniel and Loki joining them too. They celebrated having Billy back to normal, while also welcoming Kate, Cassie, and Kamala back to the team.

Nathaniel gasped as he looked around their headquarters. “This place is so cool! Very vintage too.”

“Everything would be vintage to you,” said Amadeus as he walked around Nathaniel. “And try not to touch anything. We wouldn’t want to risk you blowing something up.”

“Be nice to the kid. He’s new here.” Noh-Varr placed a few bottles of champagne on a table. He opened one and started to pour a glass for everyone.

“Oh!” Kamala backed away from the offer. “I’m not twenty-one yet. Actually, most of us aren’t twenty-one.”

Cassie leaned over to take Kamala’s glass. “More for me then.” She was about to chug it when Kamala took it back. 

Eli smirked. He went over to the couch and leaned against it while taking a sip. “Now, that we’re all together again, what’s going on with the whole Skrull thing? Where’s Lan-Zarr and Mur-G’nn?”

“At New Asgard with the other Skrulls.” Teddy chugged his glass. “I went with them and Thor to make sure that they were properly welcomed.”

“How are the other Skrulls responding to more hybrids?” asked Kate.

“Surprisingly well. At this point, most Skrulls want nothing but peace. We spent thousands of years at war with the Kree, and almost a century living scattered across the universe. Nobody is going to complain about there being more hybrids, except for the Dard’van.”

America sighed. “Right. Those Radicals that captured Wanda. So...what exactly are we doing about them? And why haven’t we told the Avengers about it?”

“It’s a trust issue.” Tommy sipped his glass. “We don’t know if the Dard’van captured any of the other Avengers, and until we figure out a way to identify the Dard’van, we can’t run the risk of the Avengers knowing our plan. Let them think we found mom by chance.”

Loki chuckled as he poured himself another glass. “You’re thinking like a proper trickster, Thomas. I very much approve.”

“We learned from the best.” Billy raised a glass over to Loki, who responded in kind.

“And speaking of ways to identify the Dard’van.” Riri coughed as she activated her gauntlet. A holographic image appeared with her hitting on a few keys. “Amadeus and I’ve been working on a new interface for us. While I love F.R.I.D.A.Y., we need some upgrades, and we need to operate in secret. Digging through some of Starks’ old files and we recovered some of the Vision’s old data, we found a way to repurpose things.”

A green, holographic orb appeared between them with yellow lights flickering around it. 

Riri raised a glass. “Allow us to introduce you to J.O.N.A.S.”

“Hello, Young Avengers,” said J.O.N.A.S. “I am J.O.N.A.S.”

Everyone smiled. 

“J.O.N.A.S., eh?” Noh-Varr poured more champagne for himself and Kate. “What does your name stand for?”

“Nothing,” said J.O.N.A.S. “Riri and Amadeus gave me this name because they’re fans of the Jonas Brothers.”

The green holograph faded but remained accessible through the speakers and computers in the base.

Cassie chuckled. “Seriously? The Jonas Brothers?”

Amadeus rolled his eyes. “You got a problem with that? Joe Jonas is fucking hot.”

“Don’t you mean Nick?” asked Kamala.

Eli shrugged. “I think Kevin’s pretty hot. I would like to turn him into my bitch.”

Everyone turned to Eli with raised eyebrows.

“You’re gay, too?” asked Tommy. “Or bi like me?”

“Neither. I can just admit when I find guys attractive. And why is nobody questioning Amadeus or anyone else’s sexuality?”

Amadeus grabbed a bottle for himself. “Cause I haven’t hidden the fact that I find some dudes attractive. Same with the ladies on our team when it comes to other ladies. Plus, we got America being a professional lesbian.” America winked at Amadeus while raising her glass to him.

Billy laughed as he raised his glass to his lips. “We really are the queerest team of superheroes.”

Teddy dropped his glass on a table. He gave a deep sigh. “So...I’m going to tell Talos and Soren about Veranke. They have a right to know about what happened with their daughter. Are y’all going to stay here?”

“I think so,” said Billy. “We’re still going to throw that party later tonight, right? A big welcome home party?”

Teddy smirked then leaned over to kiss Billy. “Great. I’ll be back in a while then. Don’t ditch me.”

Loki gagged at Teddy and Billy being cute. “We won’t, Prince Charming. Go, do your thing.”

*~*

While Teddy was gone, they started to work on their party. Cassie left with Nate and Kamala to handle the food. Loki and Billy were arguing about the decorations as they cast spell after spell to probably decorate the headquarters. Riri and Amadeus were designing the playlist with Noh-Varr making some firm opinions on their song choices before he made another champagne run. 

Meanwhile, Tommy and Kate ditched the others. They took a bottle of champagne with them into the backroom.

Tommy refilled their glasses as they sat on a couple of crates. “What are your plans now that you got your parents’ situation kind of sorted out? Are you staying in L.A.?”

“Actually, no.” Kate gestured to Tommy to fill her glass to the brim. “I’m going to move back into the city. I figure that Billy can magic my stuff back into my old apartment before the New Year since I didn’t get rid of it.”

“Must be nice to be rich enough to afford two places in two of the most expensive cities in the country.”

Kate shrugged. “Given that my mom’s a vampire now and she’s trying to kill my dad who is also trying to kill her, I better get something out of this fucked up family.” She chugged her glass and gave a deep sigh. She extended her arm out so that Tommy would give her another refill. “I feel like I got some serious white woman problems.”

Tommy shook his head. “Your problems are beyond white woman problems. They’re Kate Bishop problems.”

Kate chuckled. She took a small sip. “What about you, handsome? How are things going between you and Noh?”

“We’re good. He was basically living with Billy and me after Skrull-Mom died. I’m not sure how mom will feel with him living with us now, though. He may need to move back here.”

“Or not. He can move in with me. And一” Kate curled her lips into her mouth. “This isn’t the booze talking, I swear, but you can move in too.”

Tommy squinted his eyes. He reached to take Kate’s glass away. “I’m cutting you off because you’re clearly drunk and talking nonsense.”

Kate groaned. She accepted the loss of her champagne as she raised her hands. “Come on, Tommy. I’m serious. We all seem to mesh well, and I really like you.”

“We mesh?” asked Tommy. “How do you know you mesh with Noh?”

“We had a bit of a moment during this Moridun mess,” said Kate. “If you were open to trying something more inclusive.” Kate reached out to touch Tommy’s leg. “I think the three of us could make things work.”

Tommy smirked and chuckled a little. “You want a speedster and an alien boyfriend? That’s a lot of energy to put up with.”

“I’m an energetic woman.” 

Tommy handed Kate back her glass. “Well...if Noh’s open to it. We can give it a try.”

*~*

Teddy didn’t know how to break the news to Talos and Soren. They sat at the table together, and since they were so comfortable, they maintained their Skrull appearances. Teddy knew it could potentially destroy them, but given Veranke was their daughter and they’ve been so kind to him, he needed to say it.

Even though he knew he was doing the right thing, it didn’t make things easier.

So Teddy started the talk on a different direction. They were already aware of Lan-Zarr and Mur-G’nn joining the other Skrulls, so Teddy spoke about the Knights of the Infinite and his destiny as Dorrek Supreme. He even proudly showed off Excelsior, which appeared to his hand in a swirl of golden lights.

Talos and Soren knew nothing about the knights or Dorrek Supreme, but, like Noh-Varr, the knowledge of the hybrids’ existence wouldn’t be something the Skrulls would want to be publicized. 

But then came Teddy filling them in on what happened with Wanda, which naturally meant he told them about the Dard’van.

“And the Dard’van一we found something else about them,” said Teddy. “We know they’re planning an invasion because of what happened to Wanda. We’re digging through what little data we got from a Dard’van ship to be better prepared. And一we know who leads the Dard’van.”

“Let me guess,” said Talos, “it’s Kl’rt? I knew him before he became the so-called Super Skrull. He was always a showboat.” Talos chuckled at his joke with Soren joining him.

Teddy shook his head. “No...it’s Veranke.”

Talos and Soren became silent and stared at him with wide eyes.

“Are you certain?” asked Soren, finally breaking the silence. “Our Veranke? She leads the Dard’van?”

Teddy nodded. “I’m sorry to break the news to you, but yes. Veranke leads the Dard’van, they even refer to her as the Queen of Skrulls.”

Talos huffed. “Fucking radicals.”

Soren placed a hand on Talos’ shoulder. “Our Veranke…”

“I can’t.” Talos paused to cover his mouth. A tear trickled down his face as he gave a deep sigh. “My little girl...she made her choice.”

“I’ll have to fight her eventually,” said Teddy. “And…”

“We understand.” Soren brushed away her tears. “Talos is right. Veranke made her choice. And so did we…”

Talos squeezed onto Soren’s hand. “Thank you for telling us the truth, Prince Dorrek. You do us a great honor by letting us know what happened to our daughter.”

“It is I who should be thanking you, for protecting me all these years.”

Soren tried to smile but couldn't bring herself to make the nerves cooperate.

Talos nodded again as he sighed once more. “So...onto a happier subject. How’s Billy now? Has he recovered?”

“Physically, yes. Mentally, it’ll take him a while,” said Teddy. “But now that Wanda is back, he’s got plenty of support. And...I’m always going to be there for him.”

Soren got herself to smile from Teddy’s declaration. She got up from the table and excused herself for a second. She quickly ran to hers and Talos’ bedroom to grab a dark box. “You and Billy truly do make a lovely couple.” Soren returned to hand the box over to Teddy. “This is something from your mother, Princess Anelle. Something she always wanted to give Mar-Vell, but never got the chance to do before she died.”

Teddy furrowed his brows. He carefully opened his box and gasped. “Oh...are these?”

“Royal bands.” Soren folded her hands over her chest. “Anelle and Mar-Vell talked of marriage, especially when they found out they were carrying you. Had Yon-Rogg not killed Mar-Vell…”

Talos reached across the table to squeeze Teddy’s hand. “Your mothers would want you to have them. When you’re ready...and if you think Billy or someone else is the one, give them the ring.”

Teddy smiled. “There’s nobody else for me but Billy. I’m ready now.” Teddy closed the box. He reached out to hug Talos and Soren before running out of their apartment.

With Teddy gone, Talos and Soren had the privacy that they needed to grieve what happened to their daughter. And grieve for the fact that Teddy may have to kill her to protect the Skrulls.

*~*

When Teddy returned to headquarters, Teddy found the party well underway.

Silver and gold streamers decorated the ceiling. A banner was hung from the second-floor loft that read “Young Avengers 4 Life.” Strobe Lights illuminate the place with everyone chowing away on food and drinking more champagne. Meanwhile, J.O.N.A.S. was in charge of playing music as it was reduced to being their Siri and Alexa.

Teddy could only smile and shake his head as he saw everything that was happening. “You, guys, really went all out.”

“Damn right, we did!” Billy danced over to Teddy. They locked hands with Billy pulling Teddy over towards the rest of the group. “We have a lot to celebrate. We’re all together again! And our family got a little bigger by two.”

“By two?” said Teddy.

Eli nodded as he stopped dancing. He raised a glass over towards Nathaniel. “Nate, since you haven’t ditched us to go back to the future, we’d like to offer you a spot on the team.”

Nathaniel gave a big smile. “Really? Me! An Avenger?”

“A Young Avenger,” corrected Cassie as she wrapped an arm around him, “but yeah.”

Nathaniel kept on smiling as he rapidly nodded his head. “Hell yeah! I want to be part of the team.”

Tommy refilled Loki’s glass. “And that just leaves you, trickster. How would you like to be a Young Avenger?”

“Me?” Loki raised an eyebrow. “You honestly want me part of your team?”

Billy rested his head on Loki’s shoulder. “You saved my life and stuck with us against two, demonic gods when you could’ve run away to another realm. You’ve earned your spot on the team, Loki. We want to make it official.”

Loki curled his lips and held back tears. He opened his mouth but was left speechless for a moment. “Well.” Loki brushed his dark hair back. “Since you asked so nicely, I suppose I can play hero with you, kids.”

Kamala rolled her eyes. “Admit it, Loki! You want to be a Young Avenger.”

“Fine!” Loki raised his glass. “I’m a Young Avenger now!”

“Woo!” everyone cheered.

Amadeus pointed at the computer monitor even though it wasn’t necessary. “J.O.N.A.S., play us some Ariana Grande!”

“Featuring Nicki Minaj!” added Riri.

“On it,” said J.O.N.A.S.

They whooped as the next song played, and they continued to dance around in their circle, enjoying this precious moment.

Tommy kissed Noh-Varr, but just before Noh-Varr could blink, he got a kiss from Kate too. Noh-Varr raised his eyebrows since he only found out about their relationship proposal a moment ago. Noh-Varr had a good feeling he could get used to both of them as he wrapped his arms over their shoulders.

Kamala danced with Riri and Amadeus as they mindlessly sang along to the song. Amadeus danced a little too hard, though, as he generated a mini-earthquake, so they had to calm him down a bit.

America and Eli laughed at a joke, while Loki danced by himself as he grooved to the music. Cassie worked on getting Nathaniel to drop his guard and dance to the music since he was amongst friends.

As Billy danced with Teddy’s arms around him, he heard Teddy whisper about wanting to talk in private.

Billy flew them up to the second-floor loft with the sparks of scarlet-colored magic fading upon landing. “What did you want to talk about?” asked Billy. “Did Tommy already about my new codename? You hate it, don’t you?”

“What new codename?”

“Since my powers have changed so much and it’s not really cool to call myself Wiccan when I’m not a Wiccan, I decided to change my name to the Scarlet Son.”

Teddy smiled. “Scarlet Son? I kinda like it. So...since I’m not a Hulk, does that mean I should ditch being called Hulkling?”

“Maybe.” Billy wrapped his arms around Teddy’s neck, while Teddy placed his hands on Billy’s hips. They swayed to the music. “You could go by...Marveling? Captain Marvel and Marvel Boy are already taken. Maybe just Marvel? Or go by Dorrek.”

Teddy hummed as he thought on it. “My mom was also referred to as Starwoman, so maybe I can be Starman?”

“Too basic. You need something more clever...and sexy.” Billy stepped on his tiptoes to kiss Teddy. “We’ll keep thinking on it. So...what did you want to talk about?”

Teddy pressed his forehead against Billy’s forehead. It made Billy smile as he thought back to the slumber party. When they first made their feelings about each other known. It was their unique way to signal just how much they cared about each other.

“I’ve been thinking.” Teddy pulled away a little. “Just how much I love you. And how much I love having you in my life.”

Billy kept on smiling. “I love you having you in my life too. Why bring this up now?”

“Because.” Teddy went into his pocket to grab the box. “I want to be stuck with you for the rest of my life. Till death do us part.”

“What?” Billy chuckled but gasped when he saw Teddy holding up a box. Teddy flipped it open to reveal a pair of silver rings that bore sapphires in the center. And holding the sapphires in place was a silver detailing that been carved in a way to almost hands. “Teddy...Dorrek...are you serious?”

Teddy nodded. “I am. These rings, they were meant for my moms, but they never got the chance to wear them. But I think they’re perfect for us. So, William Maximoff, will you marry me?”

Tears flooded Billy’s eyes as he looked from the rings to Teddy’s face. Teddy was also crying as he was genuinely putting his heart on the line. Billy couldn’t believe it, especially since they were both still young.

But Billy also knew he’d never find someone like Teddy again. Billy hit the jackpot and would never find a guy in the entire universe that even came close to Teddy.

“Yes!” Billy smiled. “I will marry you!”

Teddy threw his arms around Billy, with the two sharing a lengthy kiss. Teddy took a ring and slid it onto Billy’s finger, with Billy doing the same. They giggled as they shared another kiss.

“What are you homos doing up there?” shouted Tommy.

Billy rolled his eyes. He ran towards the railing and held his hand up. “Teddy asked me to marry him, and I said yes!”

“Shut the fuck up!” shouted Cassie.

“J.O.N.A.S., cut the music!” said Amadeus. “Are you two serious? You’re really getting married?” 

Teddy leaned over the railing and raised his hand too. “We are!”

Ecstatic screams echoed across their headquarters. Billy and Teddy joined hands as they jumped down to the first floor with scarlet sparks softening their landing.

Everyone ran to Billy and Teddy to immediately congratulate them and hug. Their cheering only got louder partly thanks to the alcohol, but mostly from their excitement. 

“We’re throwing you the biggest, gayest wedding imaginable!” said Kate.

“Of course you are,” said Billy as Tommy kept on hugging him. “We wouldn’t want anything less!”

Teddy chuckled as he had Amadeus and Kamala hugging him. And oddly enough, Kamala was the stronger hugger thanks to her stretchy powers. “We’re gonna discuss those details, right?”

“Yes!” said Kamala. “Like where are you having the wedding? At a synagogue? On the beach?”

“And who is going to be in the wedding party!” said Eli.

“And who is in charge of the music?” asked Riri.

Billy and Teddy smirked as they said it at the same time. “J.O.N.A.S!”

“I’d be honored to be your D.J.,” said J.O.N.A.S.

Noh-Varr groaned. “You’re going to let the computer be your D.J.? Nope! Not happening. It’s going to be me, or I’m trashing your wedding.”

“Give the job to Noh,” said Loki, “he’s too dangerous to be left without busywork.”

Nathaniel chuckled. “This is crazy! I just joined the team, and now I get to be part of your wedding? What perfect timing.”

“Perfect timing indeed.” America handed glasses of champagne over to Teddy and Billy. “Now, cheers to the happy couple!”

“Yes!” said Eli. “Cheers to Billy and Teddy!”

“To Billy and Teddy,” shouted everyone.

*~*

Across the galaxy, a fleet of ships gathered over a dead planet. The occupants already milked the planet of all the resources it had to offer and would soon abandon it as they had more significant objectives in mind.

Inside the ships, Skrulls roamed the halls and dressed in bulky, black armor with purple accents. A few Skrulls bore stars over their left breasts, signifying their ranks and authority amongst their people.

They viewed themselves as the true Skrulls, those who were keepers of the traditions. And those who opposed the abomination prince that stole the throne.

They were the Dard’van.

Entering the ship’s deck, Kl’rt groaned as he finished reviewing the report. One of their ships was lost in the Andromeda Galaxy, the same ship that held Wanda Maximoff prisoner.

“What do we know?” Kl’rt barked at his subordinates.

The Skrulls lowered their heads both in respect of their Super Skrull and in fear.

One of the Skrulls spoke up. “Our agents confirmed that Wanda Maximoff is on Earth again with her children. However, we cannot confirm if our operation’s been uncovered.”

Kl’rt clenched his fists. “Curses. Our invasion is working perfectly. Queen Veranke will be most disappointed when she gets this report.”

“It matters not, Kl’rt,” said a deep, cold voice. “The infiltration is already underway. Our agents are scattered across the Earth, while our sleepers are in positions of power. Not even Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can stop what we’ve spent years refining.”

Kl’rt turned to find an Earthling man sitting in his chair.

The dark-haired man uncrossed his legs and stood. His green and purple tunic swaying as he stared at Kl’rt with his cold, dark eyes. “The Skrulls invaded Earth before. While Captain Marvel stopped the previous invasion, not even she can stop what we’ve planned. None of the Avengers and their allies stand a chance against the Dard’van.”

“You’re right,” said Kl’rt. “However, it is at this stage that our objectives are at their most vulnerable. If we’re uncovered too soon, then everything we’ve been working for will be for not.”

“Don’t worry, Kl’rt. I’ve already seen your victory. And I’m here to ensure it happens.”

Kl’rt squinted his eyes at the man. “Yes...you’ve said that before, but I do not trust you. You say you come from the future and that you wish to help, how do we know that you’re not looking to stab us in the back?”

“You don’t because you do not know the future aside from what I told you. However, it’s not like you can turn away someone with knowledge and resources from the future. Not if you want to succeed in killing the abomination and his protectors.”

Kl’rt nodded. “Fine...we will continue to do things as you advise, Master Richards.”

The man smiled. “Of course you will. And Kl’rt, please, call me Kang.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Billy and Teddy are going to get married! But will the Dard'van and Kang ruin it? Who knows!
> 
> I'm gonna take a mini-break to outline the final arc, but here's a brief summary of what'll happen.
> 
> Another year and planning out a wedding brings the Young Avengers even closer than before. But when everyone appears to have their "happily ever afters," the Dard'van finally initiate their "secret invasion." Will the Young Avengers survive when they can't see friend from foe? Or will Queen Veranke and her advisor, Kang, succeed in taking over Earth? Find out in Young Avengers: Till the End of Time.


End file.
